Bug FAQOrache Leafminer Moth
Chrysoesthia sexguttella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Gelechiidae
Also called: Moth, Six-spot Neb, six-spot crest
Source: Wikipedia
The adult moth has a wingspan of about 8 to 10 mm and a metallic brassy-grey head with dark purplish-grey forewings marked by yellow spots. It is found throughout Europe, into southern Siberia, and in the northeastern part of North America, where it may be introduced.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The larva is yellow-whitish with a brownish dorsal line, orange-reddish lateral spots, a pale brown head, and a blackish second-segment plate.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan ranges from 8 to 10 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It occurs across all of Europe, extends east to southern Siberia, and is also present in the northeastern regions of North America.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae mine the leaves of many Atriplex, Chenopodium, Amaranthus, Bassia, and Spinacia species, feeding inside the leaf tissue.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
The moth is active in two flight periods: May-June and August-September.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes Europe, southern Siberia, and the northeastern part of North America, where it may have been introduced.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 29 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, Maryland.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants do the larvae damage?
The larvae mine the leaves of Atriplex, Chenopodium, Amaranthus, Bassia and Spinacia species, harming those plants.
Source: Wikipedia
When are the adult moths active?
Adults fly in two periods each year, from May to June and from August to September.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Gelechiidae)
Angoumois Grain MothSitotroga cerealellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Black-smudged Chionodes MothChionodes mediofuscella
Inverse and Kimball's Dichomeris MothsDichomeris inversella
Pink-washed Aristotelia MothAristotelia roseosuffusella
White Stripe-backed MothArogalea cristifasciella
Burdock Seedhead MothMetzneria lappellaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysoesthia_sexguttella
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.