Brown-shaded Gray

Iridopsis defectaria · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae

Also called: Brown-shaded Gray Moth

Damages trees, gardens or crops. The larvae can damage oak, poplar, sweet cherry and willow trees.

Source: Wikipedia

Brown-shaded Gray
Photo: David Dodd, CC BY

The adult moth has a wingspan of about 30 mm. Adults are active from February through November, depending on location.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Wingspan is roughly 30 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults are on the wing from February to November, varying by location.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 32 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Alabama, Virginia, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

More photos

Brown-shaded Gray photo 3
Photo: Sam Kieschnick, CC BY
Brown-shaded Gray photo 4
Photo: Nash Turley, CC BY
Brown-shaded Gray photo 5
Photo: Daniel Patterson, CC BY
Brown-shaded Gray photo 6
Photo: Michael J. Papay, CC BY

Same family (Geometridae)

Willow BeautyWillow BeautyPeribatodes rhomboidariaPale BeautyPale BeautyCampaea perlataDamages trees, gardens or cropsLarge Lace-border MothLarge Lace-border MothScopula limboundataDamages trees, gardens or cropsRiband WaveRiband WaveIdaea aversataYellow Shell MothYellow Shell MothCamptogramma bilineataLarge Maple Spanworm MothLarge Maple Spanworm MothProchoerodes lineolaDamages trees, gardens or crops

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacamptodes_defectaria

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.