Bug FAQSmall Pine Looper Moth
Eupithecia palpata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae
Also called: small pine looper
The moth has a wingspan of about 23 mm. It lives in spruce woods and its caterpillars feed on fir, hemlock, larch, pine and spruce trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure roughly 23 mm across the wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are found in forests dominated by spruce trees.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae eat the foliage of balsam fir, eastern hemlock, eastern larch, pines and spruces, and possibly other conifers.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 28 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Vermont, Massachusetts, Michigan, Colorado, North Carolina, New York, Maine, New Hampshire.
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
Questions people ask
Where is this moth found?
It lives in spruce woods throughout Canada and the northeastern United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Geometridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eupithecia_palpata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.