Bug FAQEye-spotted Bud Moth
Spilonota ocellana · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Tortricidae
Also called: Bud Moth
The eye-spotted bud moth has a wingspan of about 12 to 17 mm and its forewings are whitish with dark speckles and a distinctive black-edged triangular spot near the tornus. It lives across the Palearctic region, from North Africa and Europe through Asia to Japan, and is also found on Madeira and in North America. The moth produces one generation each year, with adults on the wing from May to October depending on location.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Forewings are whitish, sometimes tinged grey, and covered with fine dark streaks. A dark grey basal patch with an angled edge and a black-edged triangular spot near the tornus are characteristic.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan ranges from 12 to 17 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It occurs throughout the Palearctic realm, including North Africa, Europe, Iran, eastern Russia, China, Korea, and Japan.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on a variety of deciduous trees and shrubs such as oak, birch, rowan, and blueberry.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
There is one generation per year.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are active from May through October, varying with location.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
A similar form that feeds on larch, called lariciana, is usually a bit smaller and darker.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 17 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Washington, Michigan, New York, Vermont, Idaho, Oregon, Wisconsin, New Hampshire.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When are eye-spotted bud moths active?
Adults fly from May to October, depending on where they live.
Source: Wikipedia
What do the larvae eat?
The caterpillars feed on leaves of oak, birch, rowan, blueberry and other deciduous trees and shrubs.
Source: Wikipedia
How many generations are produced each year?
The species has one generation per year.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Tortricidae)
Oblique-banded Leafroller MothChoristoneura rosaceanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Garden TortrixClepsis peritanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common MarbleSyricoris lacunanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Red-banded Leafroller MothArgyrotaenia velutinanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Light Brown Apple MothEpiphyas postvittanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Aster and Reddish Eucosma Moths and AlliesEucosma parmatanaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spilonota_ocellana
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.