Bug FAQCommon Pinkband
Ogdoconta cinereola · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae
Also called: Common Pinkband Moth
Source: Wikipedia
Forewings measure about 9.5 to 14.5 mm in length. The moth’s forewing is light brown with a pinkish tint in the subterminal area and tiny white speckles on the medial and basal parts. It lives across eastern, central and south-western North America, from southern Canada down to Florida and west to Arizona and northern Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The forewing is light brown with a pinkish hue between the postmedial and subterminal lines. Small white speckles dot the middle and base of the wing.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Forewing length ranges from 9.5 to 14.5 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on plants in the amaranth, aster, legume, mint and grass families.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Flight season runs May-September in the north and April-October further south.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range extends from southern Ontario and Quebec down to southern Florida. In the west it reaches Manitoba, the Great Plains, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and into Coahuila, Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 41 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Louisiana, Tennessee.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. 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 plants from the amaranth, aster, legume, mint and grass families.
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/Ogdoconta_cinereola
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.