Bug FAQPolice Car Moth
Gnophaela vermiculata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Erebidae
Also called: Green Lattice
The Police Car Moth has a wingspan of about 54 mm (2.1 in). Adults fly during the day in late summer, while the caterpillars start with yellow patches and later turn the adult’s coloration. It lives in the Rocky Mountain region and western North America, from British Columbia down to California and east to New Mexico and Alberta.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults are active in daylight in late summer. Caterpillars are born with yellow patches that later change to the adult’s colors.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan is roughly 54 mm (2.1 in).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found in the Rocky Mountain region and western parts of North America.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on plants such as Mertensia, Lithospermum and Hackelia. Adults sip nectar from herbaceous flowers like thistles and goldenrods.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
There is one generation each year.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing in late summer and fly by day.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It may be mistaken for Gnophaela latipennis, which has smaller pale wing areas and more rounded forewing edges.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 14 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, New Mexico.
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
What do the caterpillars eat?
Caterpillars feed on Mertensia, Lithospermum and Hackelia species.
Source: Wikipedia
What flowers do adult moths visit?
Adults drink nectar from plants such as thistles and goldenrods.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Erebidae)
Spongy MothLymantria disparDamages trees, gardens or crops
Fall Webworm MothHyphantria cuneaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Brown-tail MothEuproctis chrysorrhoeaCan irritate skin
Isabella Tiger MothPyrrharctia isabella
Virginian Tiger MothSpilosoma virginicaCan irritate skin
Salt Marsh MothEstigmene acreaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnophaela_vermiculata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.