Bug FAQChionodes trichostola
Chionodes trichostola · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Gelechiidae
Males have a wingspan of about 19 mm and females about 16 mm. It lives in western North America, from southwestern British Columbia down through California and east to Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Texas. The caterpillars feed on several oak species, on Arctostaphylos insularis and on Sorbus species.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The forewings are brown with dark speckles and a small blackish line near the base under the leading edge. There is a long black spot at the base of the rear edge and an angled streak from the front edge to the middle spot, shown by dark shading and two tiny blackish spots.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Males have a wingspan of about 19 mm; females are slightly smaller at about 16 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is recorded from southwestern British Columbia through California and eastward to Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on oak trees such as Quercus chrysolepis, Q. douglasii, Q. kelloggii, Q. lobata, Q. wislizenii, Q. dumosa and Q. tomentella, as well as on Arctostaphylos insularis and Sorbus species.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Chionodes trichostola belongs to the moth family Gelechiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 7 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Washington.
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
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the caterpillars eat?
The larvae feed on several oak species, on Arctostaphylos insularis and on Sorbus plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is Chionodes trichostola found?
It occurs in western North America, from southwestern British Columbia down through California and east to Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
How big are these moths?
Males have a wingspan of about 19 mm and females about 16 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Gelechiidae)
Angoumois Grain MothSitotroga cerealellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Black-smudged Chionodes MothChionodes mediofuscella
Inverse and Kimball's Dichomeris MothsDichomeris inversella
Pink-washed Aristotelia MothAristotelia roseosuffusella
White Stripe-backed MothArogalea cristifasciella
Burdock Seedhead MothMetzneria lappellaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chionodes_trichostola
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.