Bug FAQSchlaeger's Fruitworm Moth
Antaeotricha schlaegeri · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Depressariidae
The adult moth has a wingspan of about 2 to 3 centimeters. It looks like a bird dropping, which helps it avoid predators.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults are patterned to resemble a bird dropping.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan ranges from 21 to 30 millimeters.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in northeastern North America, down to North Carolina and westward to Kansas and Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on white oak and related oak species, and have also been recorded on birch.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
The moth’s bird-dropping mimicry can cause it to be mistaken for actual bird droppings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 39 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Michigan, Georgia.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the larvae eat?
The caterpillars feed on white oak, other oak species, and sometimes birch.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I recognize the adult moth?
Adults look like bird droppings, which is a key identification feature.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Depressariidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antaeotricha_schlaegeri
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.