Bug FAQFragile White Carpet
Hydrelia albifera · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae
Also called: Fragile White Carpet Moth
The fragile white carpet moth (Hydrelia albifera) is a small Geometrid with a wingspan of 16 to 18 mm. It inhabits deciduous and mixed-wood forests across Canada and the northern United States, from Newfoundland to British Columbia and south to the Gulf states, and its caterpillars feed on dogwood and paper birch leaves. Adults fly from May to August; in the north there is one generation per year, while further south two generations may occur.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Hydrelia albifera, called the fragile white carpet moth, belongs to the Geometridae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan measures about 16 to 18 millimeters.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives in deciduous and mixed-wood forests.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The caterpillars eat the leaves of red osier dogwood, alternate-leaf dogwood and paper birch.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
In the northern part of its range it produces one generation each year, while farther south it may have two.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are active from May through August.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
In North America it ranges from Newfoundland across to British Columbia and southward to the Gulf states.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 26 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New York, Michigan, Vermont, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants do the larvae feed on?
The larvae feed on the leaves of dogwood species (Cornus stolonifera and Cornus alternifolia) and paper birch (Betula papyrifera).
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Geometridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrelia_albifera
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.