Cream-winged Bird-dropping Moth

Tarache lactipennis · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Cream-winged Bird-dropping Moth
Photo: Annika Lindqvist, CC BY

The cream-winged bird-dropping moth belongs to the Noctuidae family and mimics bird droppings. It lives in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Tarache lactipennis is a bird-dropping moth in the Noctuidae family.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

This species is found in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range is North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 6 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska.

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

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Cream-winged Bird-dropping Moth photo 2
Photo: Shinobu, CC BY
Cream-winged Bird-dropping Moth photo 3
Photo: Annika Lindqvist, CC BY
Cream-winged Bird-dropping Moth photo 4
Photo: Annika Lindqvist, CC BY
Cream-winged Bird-dropping Moth photo 5
Photo: Annika Lindqvist, CC BY

Same family (Noctuidae)

Ipsilon Dart MothIpsilon Dart MothAgrotis ipsilonDamages trees, gardens or cropsFall Armyworm MothFall Armyworm MothSpodoptera frugiperdaDamages trees, gardens or cropsArmy Cutworm MothArmy Cutworm MothEuxoa auxiliarisDamages trees, gardens or cropsLarge Yellow UnderwingLarge Yellow UnderwingNoctua pronubaDamages trees, gardens or cropsSilver ΥSilver ΥAutographa gammaAmerican DaggerAmerican DaggerAcronicta americanaCan irritate skin

Sources

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

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

Text written 2026-10-28 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-28.

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.