Dark-winged Festive Midget

Elaphria cornutinus · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Dark-winged Festive Midget
Photo: hr_dragonfly, CC BY

The Dark-winged Festive Midget has forewings that measure about 9 to 12 mm in length. It lives in the southeastern United States, including states such as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, southeastern Michigan, Ohio, and Maryland. Adults can be seen flying from March through September.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Forewing length ranges from 9 to 12 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It has been recorded in several southeastern U.S. states, including Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, southeastern Michigan, Ohio, and Maryland.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults are on the wing from March to September.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The species is native to North America, specifically the southeastern United States.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio.

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

Questions people ask

When are Dark-winged Festive Midget moths active?

Adults are active from March through September.

Source: Wikipedia

Where can I find Dark-winged Festive Midget moths?

They have been recorded in southeastern U.S. states such as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, southeastern Michigan, Ohio, and Maryland.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Noctuidae)

Sources

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

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

Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.

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.