Bug FAQGlaucolepis saccharella
Glaucolepis saccharella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nepticulidae
Glaucolepis saccharella is a tiny moth with a wingspan of about four millimeters. Its larvae mine the leaves of sugar maple and red maple, and the moths emerge in May-June, with leaf mines visible in July, August and sometimes October.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Glaucolepis saccharella belongs to the family Nepticulidae of moths.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The adult’s wingspan is roughly four millimeters.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It has been recorded in Ohio, United States.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae feed by mining the leaves of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and red maple (Acer rubrum).
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults emerge from overwintering pupae in May and June.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Moths from the overwintering pupae appear in May and June.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its known range includes Ohio, United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 23 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Massachusetts, Vermont, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Minnesota.
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 trees do the larvae feed on?
The larvae mine the leaves of sugar maple and red maple (Acer saccharum and Acer rubrum).
Source: Wikipedia
When do the adult moths appear?
Adults emerge in May and June from pupae that overwinter.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nepticulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifurcula_saccharella
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.