Bug FAQSophronia primella
Sophronia primella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Gelechiidae
The moth has a wingspan of about 17 mm. Its forewings are ochreous with white, black and fuscous streaks, while the hindwings are light ochreous-fuscous.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The hindwings are light ochreous fuscous.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan is about 17 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to North America, with records from several U.S. states.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 12 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Tennessee, Alabama, Arizona, Texas, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, New Mexico.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does Sophronia primella look like?
Its forewings are ochreous with white, black and fuscous streaks, and the hindwings are light ochreous-fuscous.
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/Sophronia_primella
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.