Bug FAQEctoedemia clemensella
Ectoedemia clemensella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nepticulidae
The adult moth is very small, with a wingspan of about five millimetres. It occurs in several eastern U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina and Ohio. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of the American sycamore tree. There are three generations of this moth each year.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults have a wingspan ranging from roughly 4.5 to 5.2 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on the leaves of Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore).
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The species produces three generations per year.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 17 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, New Jersey, Tennessee.
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
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the larvae of Ectoedemia clemensella eat?
The larvae feed on the leaves of the American sycamore tree (Platanus occidentalis).
Source: Wikipedia
How many generations does Ectoedemia clemensella have each year?
There are three generations per year.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nepticulidae)
Golden PigmyStigmella aurellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Stigmella prunifoliella groupStigmella prunifoliellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Hazel Leafminer MothStigmella microtheriellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Stigmella quercipulchella groupStigmella quercipulchella
Stigmella intermedia
Stigmella rhoifoliellaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ectoedemia_clemensella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-28 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-28.