Bug FAQBlack Menesta
Menesta melanella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Depressariidae
Black Menesta is a small moth with a wingspan of about 10 to 12 mm. Its forewings are dark with a green-violet sheen and a distinctive white triangular patch, while the hindwings show a broad white streak along the leading edge. It occurs in several U.S. states across the southeast, mid-west, and southwest, and its larvae feed on two oak species, Quercus obtusiloba and Q. stellata.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The moth’s wingspan ranges from 10 to 12 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae feed on the oak species Quercus obtusiloba and Quercus stellata.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The species was first described by Mary Murtfeldt in 1890.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Black Menesta is native to North America, specifically the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 19 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, New Jersey, Arkansas, Alabama.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the larvae of Black Menesta eat?
The caterpillars feed on the oak trees Quercus obtusiloba and Quercus stellata.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Depressariidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menesta_melanella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.