Bug FAQDusky-backed Filatima Moth
Filatima pseudacaciella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Gelechiidae
Also called: Dusky-backed Filatima
The dusky-backed Filatima moth has dark purplish-brown forewings with white and ocherous streaks, a pale ocherous-brown hindwing, and small white costal and dorsal spots. It occurs across much of North America, recorded from many U.S. states and Ontario, Canada. The larvae feed on the leaves of black locust (Robinia pseudacacia) and may also feed inside the leaf mines of Macrosaccus robiniella or externally.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The forewings are dark purplish-brown with white and ocherous streaks and flecks. A streak runs from the wing base near the costal edge toward the tip, colored ocherous mixed with white. Small white spots appear at the start of the costal cilia and opposite on the dorsal side. The hindwings are a pale ocherous-brown.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It has been recorded in many U.S. states and Ontario, Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
They have also been seen feeding inside the mines of Macrosaccus robiniella and feeding externally.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 21 of 51 states and DC. Most records: North Carolina, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arizona, Ohio.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
Questions people ask
What do the adult moths look like?
Adults have dark purplish-brown forewings with white and ocherous streaks, a pale ocherous-brown hindwing, and small white spots near the wing edges.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the dusky-backed Filatima moth found?
It has been recorded across many U.S. states and in Ontario, Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
What do the larvae feed on?
The larvae feed on black locust leaves and may also feed inside leaf mines of Macrosaccus robiniella or on the leaf surface.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Gelechiidae)
Angoumois Grain MothSitotroga cerealellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Boxelder Leafworm MothChionodes obscurusella
Hairy, Toothed, and Shining Dichomeris Moths and AlliesDichomeris setosella
Black-smudged Chionodes Moth and AlliesChionodes occidentellaBlack-smudged Chionodes MothChionodes mediofuscella
Inverse and Kimball's Dichomeris MothsDichomeris inversellaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filatima_pseudacaciella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.