Bug FAQElliot's Plume Moth
Hellinsia elliottii · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Pterophoridae
The Elliot's plume moth has a wingspan of about 21 to 26 mm and is mostly white with subtle ocher-yellow tinges on the forewings. It lives across parts of North America, including several U.S. states such as Mississippi, New York, Iowa and Canadian provinces like Quebec, Alberta and Ontario. Its larvae are light-green with long white hairs and pupate in a green pupa marked with pale ochreous spots.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults are mostly white; the head is very pale fuscous, the thorax and abdomen are whitish fuscous, and the legs are white. The hindwings are pure white, sometimes showing a few scattered ocher-yellow scales.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The adult’s wingspan ranges from 21 to 26 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
This moth is found in North America, recorded in states such as Mississippi, New York and Iowa.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Pupation occurs in a green pupa that has pale ochreous markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes parts of Canada like Quebec, Alberta and Ontario as well as the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 17 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Illinois, Vermont, Ohio.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does Elliot's plume moth look like?
It is mostly white with pale fuscous head, whitish-fuscous thorax and abdomen, white legs, and forewings tinged with ocher-yellow and marked by brown streaks and spots.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find this moth?
It occurs in parts of the United States such as Mississippi, New York and Iowa, and in Canadian provinces including Quebec, Alberta and Ontario.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Pterophoridae)
Morning-glory Plume MothEmmelina monodactyla
White Plume MothPterophorus pentadactylaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Brown Silver-linePetrophora chlorosata
Grape and Sheppard's Plume MothsGeina periscelidactylusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Yarrow Plume MothGillmeria pallidactylaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Plain, Elliott's, and Habeck's Plume MothsHellinsia homodactylusSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellinsia_elliottii
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.