Virgin Moth

Protitame virginalis · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae

Also called: The Virgin Moth

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Virgin Moth
Photo: Rosario Douglas, CC BY

It occurs in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

George Duryea Hulst described the species in 1900.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

The moth lives in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range is North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 40 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Ohio, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Illinois.

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

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Virgin Moth photo 2
Photo: Greghig Jirheg, CC BY
Virgin Moth photo 3
Photo: jimeckert49, CC BY
Virgin Moth photo 4
Photo: CatherineK, CC BY-SA
Virgin Moth photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Questions people ask

Where is the Virgin Moth found?

It is found in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Geometridae)

Willow BeautyWillow BeautyPeribatodes rhomboidariaPale BeautyPale BeautyCampaea perlataDamages trees, gardens or cropsLarge Lace-border MothLarge Lace-border MothScopula limboundataDamages trees, gardens or cropsSouthern Pine and Cypress AnglesSouthern Pine and Cypress AnglesMacaria bicolorataRiband WaveRiband WaveIdaea aversataYellow Shell MothYellow Shell MothCamptogramma bilineata

Sources

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

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.

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.