Bug FAQStigmella populetorum
Stigmella populetorum · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nepticulidae
Source: Wikipedia
Stigmella populetorum is a tiny moth with a wingspan of about five millimetres. It lives in parts of North America, including several U.S. states and Canadian provinces. The caterpillars mine the leaves of poplar species, which can harm those trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The adult’s wingspan measures roughly five millimetres.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on various poplar trees, mining the leaves of species like eastern cottonwood and black poplar.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Late-instar larvae have been collected in mid-June and August, and adults appear from late June through September, with two or possibly three generations each year.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from late June until September.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 23 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maryland, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin.
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
Same family (Nepticulidae)
Golden PigmyStigmella aurellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Stigmella prunifoliella groupStigmella prunifoliellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Hazel Leafminer MothStigmella microtheriellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Stigmella quercipulchella groupStigmella quercipulchella
Stigmella intermedia
Stigmella rhoifoliellaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmella_populetorum
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.