Tupelo Leaffolder Moth

Actrix nyssaecolella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Pyralidae

Also called: Tupelo Leaffolder

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Tupelo Leaffolder Moth
Photo: Thomas Irvine, CC BY

The tupelo leaffolder moth occurs in the United States from Michigan and New York south to Florida and west to Texas. Its larvae feed on trees of the Nyssa genus.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The larvae feed on Nyssa species.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

The larvae feed on Nyssa species.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 15 of 51 states and DC. Most records: North Carolina, Connecticut, Maryland, Georgia, Massachusetts, Alabama, New Jersey, New York.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Tupelo Leaffolder Moth photo 2
Photo: Bill Keim, CC BY
Tupelo Leaffolder Moth photo 3
Photo: Seth Wollney, CC BY
Tupelo Leaffolder Moth photo 4
Photo: Seth Wollney, CC BY
Tupelo Leaffolder Moth photo 5
Photo: Jeff Niznik, CC BY-SA

Questions people ask

What do the larvae of the tupelo leaffolder moth eat?

The larvae feed on Nyssa species.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Pyralidae)

Indian-Meal MothIndian-Meal MothPlodia interpunctellaCan damage your homeGreater Wax MothGreater Wax MothGalleria mellonellaMediterranean Flour MothMediterranean Flour MothEphestia kuehniellaCan damage your homeMeal mothMeal mothPyralis farinalisDamages trees, gardens or cropsBee MothBee MothAphomia sociellaNuisance, not dangerousYellow-fringed Dolichomia MothYellow-fringed Dolichomia MothHypsopygia olinalis

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actrix_nyssaecolella

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

Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.