Bug FAQOrange-headed Callima Moth
Callima argenticinctella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Oecophoridae
Also called: Orange-headed Epicallima Moth
The orange-headed Callima moth has a wingspan of about 10 to 13 mm and lives in deciduous forests across much of eastern North America. Adults appear from April through October and can be recognized by their yellow-orange forewings with distinctive silvery-black lines and a deep reddish-orange basal area.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The forewings are yellow-orange with a silvery black line along the base and another line from the inner margin to the costa. The area between those lines is a deep reddish orange, and the hindwings are dark brownish-gray.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The moth’s wingspan ranges from 10 to 13 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives in deciduous forest habitats.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from April through October.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is found in North America, from Nova Scotia down to South Carolina and west to Kansas and Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
A similar species is Epicallima argenticinctella, the orange-headed epicallima moth, which belongs to the Oecophoridae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 36 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Vermont.
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
Same family (Oecophoridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicallima_argenticinctella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.