Bug FAQPovolnya quercinigrella
Povolnya quercinigrella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Gracillariidae
The adult moth has a wingspan of roughly one centimeter. It lives across the eastern United States down to Florida and Texas and into Ontario, Canada. Its caterpillars eat oak leaves, especially those of water oak, by mining inside the leaf tissue.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Povolnya quercinigrella belongs to the Gracillariidae family of moths.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The moth’s wingspan measures about 10 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is widely found in eastern North America, from the southern U.S. states up into Ontario.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on oak species, mining the leaves of trees such as Quercus nigra.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
In North Carolina, adult moths are on the wing during March and April.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range includes the eastern United States and eastern Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 21 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When are adult Povolnya quercinigrella active?
Adults are typically seen flying in March and April in North Carolina.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Gracillariidae)
Horse-chestnut LeafminerCameraria ohridellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Aspen Serpentine Leafminer MothPhyllocnistis populiellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Phyllocnistis vitegenella complexPhyllocnistis vitegenellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Locust Digitate Leafminer MothParectopa robiniellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Poison Ivy Leaf-miner MothCameraria guttifinitella
Phyllocnistis insignisDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloptilia_quercinigrella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-28 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-28.