Bug FAQGray Dagger
Acronicta grisea · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae
Also called: gray dagger moth
The Gray Dagger moth has a wingspan of about 30 to 40 mm. It lives across southern Canada and the northern United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. Adults are on the wing in midsummer.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from 30 to 40 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are active in midsummer.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range covers southern Canada and the northern United States across the continent.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 25 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, Michigan, Montana, California, Minnesota, Oregon, Wyoming, Washington.
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
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Same family (Noctuidae)
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American DaggerAcronicta americanaCan irritate skinSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronicta_grisea
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.