Moonseed Webworm

Omphalocera cariosa · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Pyralidae

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

Its caterpillars have been recorded eating the plant Menispermum canadense. Adult moths are on the wing from May through August in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae feed on the plant Menispermum canadense.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults are active from May to August in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 22 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland.

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

Moonseed Webworm photo 2
Photo: Adrienne van den Beemt, CC BY
Moonseed Webworm photo 3
Photo: Matthew Gerke, CC BY
Moonseed Webworm photo 4
Photo: Adrienne van den Beemt, CC BY
Moonseed Webworm photo 5
Photo: Amber M. King, CC BY

Questions people ask

When are adult Moonseed Webworms active?

Adults are on wing from May through August in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where is the Moonseed Webworm found?

It occurs from the United States down to Brazil, including many eastern and central U.S. states.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Pyralidae)

Indian-Meal MothIndian-Meal MothPlodia interpunctellaCan damage your homeGreater Wax MothGreater Wax MothGalleria mellonellaMediterranean Flour MothMediterranean Flour MothEphestia kuehniellaCan damage your homeMeal mothMeal mothPyralis farinalisDamages trees, gardens or cropsBee MothBee MothAphomia sociellaNuisance, not dangerousYellow-fringed Dolichomia MothYellow-fringed Dolichomia MothHypsopygia olinalis

Sources

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

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

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

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.