Bug FAQSchinia scarletina
Schinia scarletina · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae
The scarlet moth has a wingspan of about 20 mm. It lives across parts of North America, including states such as Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah, California and down into Baja California. Its caterpillars feed on plants of the genus Stephanomeria.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure roughly 20 mm from wing tip to wing tip.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
You can find this moth in western and southwestern U.S. regions and nearby Mexican areas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae have been recorded eating Stephanomeria species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to North America, spanning several U.S. states and Baja California.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 4 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Noctuidae)
Ipsilon Dart MothAgrotis ipsilonDamages trees, gardens or crops
Fall Armyworm MothSpodoptera frugiperdaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Army Cutworm MothEuxoa auxiliarisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Large Yellow UnderwingNoctua pronubaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Silver ΥAutographa gamma
American DaggerAcronicta americanaCan irritate skinSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schinia_scarletina
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.