Bug FAQSouthern Ugly-nest Caterpillar Moth
Archips rileyana · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Tortricidae
The adult moth has a wingspan of about 19 to 26 mm. Adults are seen flying in March and again from May through July. The caterpillars feed on a variety of trees and shrubs such as buckeyes, hickories, dogwoods, walnuts, cherries, snowberries and ironweeds.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from 19 mm to 26 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae eat leaves of Aesculus (buckeyes), Carya (hickories), Cornus (dogwoods), Juglans (walnuts), Prunus (cherries), Symphoricarpos (snowberries) and Vernonia (ironweeds).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to North America and has been recorded in the same list of U.S. states as above.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 18 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Alabama, Kansas, Georgia, Missouri.
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
When are adult Southern Ugly-nest Caterpillar Moths active?
Adults are on the wing in March and again from May through July.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Tortricidae)
Oblique-banded Leafroller MothChoristoneura rosaceanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Garden TortrixClepsis peritanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common MarbleSyricoris lacunanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Red-banded Leafroller MothArgyrotaenia velutinanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Light Brown Apple MothEpiphyas postvittanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Aster and Reddish Eucosma Moths and AlliesEucosma parmatanaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archips_rileyanus
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.