Snowy Urola Moth

Urola nivalis · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Crambidae

Damages trees, gardens or crops. The larvae feed on grasses and can damage Ligustrum shrubs.

The snowy urola moth has a wingspan of about 15 to 23 millimeters. Adults fly from May through September, producing two generations each year.

How to recognize it

Urola nivalis, called the snowy urola moth, belongs to the Crambidae family.

Its wingspan ranges from 15 to 23 mm.

The larvae can damage garden plants like Ligustrum and feed on grasses.

The caterpillars eat a variety of grasses. They are also considered pests of Ligustrum shrubs.

Adults are active from May to September and there are two generations each year.

You’ll see adults on the wing between May and September.

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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

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Source: GBIF

Is the snowy urola moth harmful to my garden?

Its larvae feed on grasses and can damage Ligustrum shrubs, so it may be a garden pest.

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.