Bug FAQSprague's Pygarctia
Pygarctia spraguei · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Erebidae
Also called: Sprague's Pygarctia moth, Sprague's Pygarctica
The adult has a wingspan of about 31 mm. It lives across the Great Plains from southern Canada down to Texas and east to Indiana and Louisiana. Its larvae feed on plants in the Euphorbia genus.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan measures roughly 31 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The caterpillars eat species of Euphorbia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes the Great Plains region of southern Canada down through the central United States to Texas and eastward to Indiana and Louisiana.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Michigan, Nebraska, Utah, Oklahoma, Wisconsin.
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
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Same family (Erebidae)
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Brown-tail MothEuproctis chrysorrhoeaCan irritate skin
Isabella Tiger MothPyrrharctia isabella
Virginian Tiger MothSpilosoma virginicaCan irritate skin
Salt Marsh MothEstigmene acreaDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygarctia_spraguei
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.