Bug FAQProlita variabilis
Prolita variabilis · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Gelechiidae
Prolita variabilis is a small moth with a wingspan of 22 to 27 mm and light greyish-yellow forewings marked by dark longitudinal lines and three conspicuous short black lines. It is found across North America, recorded in many western and eastern U.S. states and in several Canadian provinces, and its larvae feed on Ericameria linearifolia.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The forewings are light greyish-yellow, turning slightly brown toward the tip, with blackish-brown lines that follow the veins and become darker near the apex, plus three short, heavier black lines that appear in all varieties.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The moth’s wingspan measures between 22 and 27 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae feed on the plant Ericameria linearifolia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Montana, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Massachusetts.
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
Questions people ask
What does Prolita variabilis look like?
Its forewings are light greyish-yellow with brownish tips and dark longitudinal lines, plus three short, heavy black lines that stand out in every form.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is Prolita variabilis found?
It is recorded across many U.S. states and Canadian provinces in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Gelechiidae)
Angoumois Grain MothSitotroga cerealellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Boxelder Leafworm MothChionodes obscurusella
Hairy, Toothed, and Shining Dichomeris Moths and AlliesDichomeris setosella
Black-smudged Chionodes Moth and AlliesChionodes occidentellaBlack-smudged Chionodes MothChionodes mediofuscella
Inverse and Kimball's Dichomeris MothsDichomeris inversellaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolita_variabilis
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.