Forage Looper Moth

Caenurgina erechtea · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Erebidae

Also called: Forage Looper

Damages trees, gardens or crops. The larvae feed on alfalfa and other garden crops, so they can damage plants.

The adult moth has a wingspan of about 30 to 42 millimetres. Adults are seen flying from early spring through late fall, depending on where you are.

Size

The wingspan ranges from 30 to 42 mm.

Adults are on the wing from March through November, varying with location.

Its range covers the United States and nearby parts of Canada.

Recorded in 49 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Oregon, Colorado, Montana.

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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

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Source: GBIF

How big is the forage looper moth?

Its wingspan is about 30 to 42 mm.

When are adult forage looper moths active?

Adults fly from March to November, depending on where they live.

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.