Ironweed Plume Moth

Hellinsia paleaceus · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Pterophoridae

Also called: One-spotted Plume Moth

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Ironweed Plume Moth
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

The Ironweed Plume Moth has a wingspan of about 19 to 26 mm. Adults are on the wing from March through September. It lives across many parts of North America, including many U.S. states and southeastern Canada, and has also been recorded in Puerto Rico.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Wingspan ranges from 19 mm to 26 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae feed on several Vernonia species, including V. gigantea, V. missurica, V. noveboracensis, V. angustifolia, V. blodgettii and V. cinerea.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults have been observed from March to September.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Also recorded from Puerto Rico.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 24 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia.

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

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Ironweed Plume Moth photo 2
Photo: Cecil Smith, CC BY
Ironweed Plume Moth photo 3
Photo: Brandon Johnson, CC BY
Ironweed Plume Moth photo 4
Photo: Cecil Smith, CC BY
Ironweed Plume Moth photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Questions people ask

When can I see adult Ironweed Plume Moths?

Adults are active from March through September.

Source: Wikipedia

What plants do the caterpillars eat?

The larvae feed on various Vernonia plants such as V. gigantea and V. missurica.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Pterophoridae)

Morning-glory Plume MothMorning-glory Plume MothEmmelina monodactylaWhite Plume MothWhite Plume MothPterophorus pentadactylaDamages trees, gardens or cropsBrown Silver-lineBrown Silver-linePetrophora chlorosataGrape and Sheppard's Plume MothsGrape and Sheppard's Plume MothsGeina periscelidactylusDamages trees, gardens or cropsYarrow Plume MothYarrow Plume MothGillmeria pallidactylaDamages trees, gardens or cropsPlain, Elliott's, and Habeck's Plume MothsPlain, Elliott's, and Habeck's Plume MothsHellinsia homodactylus

Sources

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

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.