Bug FAQFlorida Pink Scavenger
Anatrachyntis badia · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Cosmopterigidae
Also called: Florida Pink Scavenger Moth
The Florida pink scavenger is a tiny moth with a wingspan of about 9 to 10 mm. Its larvae feed on decaying fruit, dead flowers, sooty mold and a variety of plant parts, but the feeding is superficial and does not cause noticeable damage.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Anatrachyntis badia, called the Florida pink scavenger, belongs to the moth family Cosmopterigidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The adult’s wingspan measures roughly 9 to 10 mm (about a third of an inch).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
In the United States it lives from Florida west to California and up to Maryland. A German record comes from a tropical greenhouse where caterpillars were found on bamboo infested with a mealybug.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae scavenge on dry or decaying fruit, dead flower parts and sooty mold among fruit clusters.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes the southern United States, extending from Florida to California and reaching as far north as Maryland.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 11 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, Texas, Hawaii, Massachusetts.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the larvae of the Florida pink scavenger eat?
They feed on decaying fruit, dead flowers, sooty mold and a range of plant parts such as pine cones, fruit pods and leaves.
Source: Wikipedia
Are they a problem inside homes?
Their feeding is superficial and does not cause noticeable damage, so they are not considered a household pest.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Cosmopterigidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatrachyntis_badia
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.