Bug FAQMesogona olivata
Mesogona olivata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae
Mesogona olivata is a moth with a wingspan of about 36 mm and belongs to the Noctuidae family. It lives from southern coastal and interior British Columbia down through California, Colorado and Texas, and probably also occurs in northern Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Mesogona olivata belongs to the moth family Noctuidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan measures about 36 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives in southern coastal and interior areas of British Columbia down through California, Colorado and Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The caterpillars eat a variety of deciduous shrubs and trees such as poplar, oak, hazel, serviceberry, alder, antelope brush, Symphoricarpos and Berberis. They have been successfully reared on Garry oak, velvet ceanothus and coast live oak.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are on the wing from August through November.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are active from August to November.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It also probably occurs in northern Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 13 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho.
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
When are adult Mesogona olivata moths active?
Adults can be seen flying from August until November.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Noctuidae)
Ipsilon Dart MothAgrotis ipsilonDamages trees, gardens or crops
Fall Armyworm MothSpodoptera frugiperdaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Army Cutworm MothEuxoa auxiliarisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Large Yellow UnderwingNoctua pronubaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Silver ΥAutographa gamma
American DaggerAcronicta americanaCan irritate skinSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesogona_olivata
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.