Busck's Plume Moth

Geina buscki · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Pterophoridae

Also called: Buck's Plume Moth

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Busck's Plume Moth
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

The adult has a wingspan of roughly 15 mm. It holds its narrow wings in a way that makes it look like a small airplane. It is found in southeastern Canada and the eastern United States, including states such as Tennessee and Mississippi.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Its wing posture gives it the silhouette of a narrow-winged airplane.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

The adult’s wingspan measures about 15 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It occurs in southeastern Canada and the eastern United States, for example Tennessee and Mississippi.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 11 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Mississippi, Maryland, Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, New York, Massachusetts.

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

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

Same family (Pterophoridae)

Morning-glory Plume MothMorning-glory Plume MothEmmelina monodactylaWhite Plume MothWhite Plume MothPterophorus pentadactylaDamages trees, gardens or cropsBrown Silver-lineBrown Silver-linePetrophora chlorosataGrape and Sheppard's Plume MothsGrape and Sheppard's Plume MothsGeina periscelidactylusDamages trees, gardens or cropsYarrow Plume MothYarrow Plume MothGillmeria pallidactylaDamages trees, gardens or cropsPlain, Elliott's, and Habeck's Plume MothsPlain, Elliott's, and Habeck's Plume MothsHellinsia homodactylus

Sources

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

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.

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.