Indented Dichomeris Moth

Dichomeris inserrata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Gelechiidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Indented Dichomeris Moth
Photo: Becca, CC BY

The adult moth has a wingspan between about 5.4 and 8.3 mm. It occurs in the United States, with records from New Jersey, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Florida. The caterpillars feed on goldenrod plants.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Wingspan ranges from roughly 5.4 to 8.3 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae eat goldenrod.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 30 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Alabama.

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

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Indented Dichomeris Moth photo 2
Photo: Asher P Higgins, CC BY
Indented Dichomeris Moth photo 3
Photo: Asher P Higgins, CC BY
Indented Dichomeris Moth photo 4
Photo: Healthy Yards, CC BY
Indented Dichomeris Moth photo 5
Photo: Judy Gallagher, CC BY-SA

Same family (Gelechiidae)

Angoumois Grain MothAngoumois Grain MothSitotroga cerealellaDamages trees, gardens or cropsBlack-smudged Chionodes MothBlack-smudged Chionodes MothChionodes mediofuscellaInverse and Kimball's Dichomeris MothsInverse and Kimball's Dichomeris MothsDichomeris inversellaPink-washed Aristotelia MothPink-washed Aristotelia MothAristotelia roseosuffusellaWhite Stripe-backed MothWhite Stripe-backed MothArogalea cristifasciellaBurdock Seedhead MothBurdock Seedhead MothMetzneria lappella

Sources

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

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

Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.

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.