Bug FAQClouded Drab
Orthosia incerta · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae
Source: Wikipedia
The adult moth has grey forewings with dark dots on the veins and a thick median shade, while the hindwing is pale or dark grey with a dark spot and pale fringe. Its caterpillars are green with yellowish lines and eat the leaves of many trees and shrubs, notably oak, which can harm garden and forest plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Forewings are grey with fuscous dusting, sometimes tinged rufous, and have large pale-edged stigmata; hindwings are grey with a dark cellspot and pale fringe.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Forewings show grey colour with fuscous dusting, rufous tinges, dark-dotted inner and outer lines, a variable submarginal line, and a strong thick median shade; hindwings range from pale to dark grey with a dark cellspot and pale fringe.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars are green with yellowish lines and feed on a variety of trees and shrubs, especially oak.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The moth produces one generation that flies from late February to mid-May.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from the end of February through mid-May.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Orthosia incerta, the clouded drab, is a noctuid moth native to Europe and Asia.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be hard to tell apart from its close relative Orthosia populeti.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Oregon.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do clouded drab caterpillars eat?
They feed on the leaves of many trees and shrubs, especially oak.
Source: Wikipedia
When are clouded drab moths active?
Adults fly in one generation from late February to mid-May.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find clouded drab moths?
They are found across Europe, the Palearctic, the Russian Far East and Japan, but not in northern Fennoscandia and up to 2000 m in the Alps.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell clouded drab apart from similar moths?
It is difficult to distinguish from Orthosia populeti, its close congener.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Noctuidae)
Ipsilon Dart MothAgrotis ipsilonDamages trees, gardens or crops
Fall Armyworm MothSpodoptera frugiperdaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Army Cutworm MothEuxoa auxiliarisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Large Yellow UnderwingNoctua pronubaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Silver ΥAutographa gamma
American DaggerAcronicta americanaCan irritate skinSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthosia_incerta
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.