Bug FAQVirbia costata
Virbia costata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Erebidae
Males have forewings about 11.7 mm long and females about 13.5 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Virbia costata belongs to the moth family Erebidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Male forewings measure about 11.7 mm, while female forewings are about 13.5 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives in the western United States, reaching as far east as western Oklahoma and north to Colorado.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae have been successfully reared on plantain species.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
The flight period occurs mainly in July, with an additional early-August flight in Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range is the western United States, extending east to western Oklahoma and north to Colorado.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 10 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Montana.
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
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When are adult Virbia costata moths active?
Adults fly in July in most of their range and in June and early August in Texas’s Big Bend area.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is Virbia costata found?
It occurs in the western United States, extending east to western Oklahoma and north to Colorado.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Erebidae)
Spongy MothLymantria disparDamages trees, gardens or crops
Fall Webworm MothHyphantria cuneaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Brown-tail MothEuproctis chrysorrhoeaCan irritate skin
Isabella Tiger MothPyrrharctia isabella
Virginian Tiger MothSpilosoma virginicaCan irritate skin
Salt Marsh MothEstigmene acreaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virbia_costata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.