Forbes' Grass Tubeworm Moth

Acrolophus forbesi · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Tineidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Forbes' Grass Tubeworm Moth
Photo: geosesarma, CC BY

The adult moth has a wingspan of roughly 17 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

The wingspan measures about 17 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It is found in North America, including several southeastern states.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 7 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Forbes' Grass Tubeworm Moth photo 2
Photo: Thomas Irvine, CC BY
Forbes' Grass Tubeworm Moth photo 3
Photo: David George, CC BY
Forbes' Grass Tubeworm Moth photo 4
Photo: Jeff Niznik, CC BY-SA
Forbes' Grass Tubeworm Moth photo 5
Photo: geosesarma, CC BY

Same family (Tineidae)

Webbing Clothes MothWebbing Clothes MothTineola bisselliellaCan damage your homeCase-bearing Clothes MothCase-bearing Clothes MothTinea pellionellaCan damage your homeClemens' Grass Tubeworm MothClemens' Grass Tubeworm MothAcrolophus popeanellaEastern Grass Tubeworm MothEastern Grass Tubeworm MothAcrolophus plumifrontellaHousehold CasebearerHousehold CasebearerPhereoeca uterellaCan damage your homeArcane Grass Tubeworm MothArcane Grass Tubeworm MothAcrolophus arcanella

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrolophus_forbesi

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.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.