Bug FAQYellow-vested Moth
Rectiostoma xanthobasis · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Depressariidae
The yellow-vested moth has a wingspan of about 12 to 14 mm and dark brown forewings with a lemon-yellow triangular patch near the base. It lives along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from southeastern Massachusetts down to central Florida and east Texas, and also up the Mississippi Valley to Missouri and Illinois. The caterpillars feed on oak leaves, especially Quercus nigra and Quercus stellata, while sheltering between two silk-joined leaves.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Forewings are dark brown with a lemon-yellow triangular area that continues from a yellow tegula, covering the basal third except for two small spots that match the brown ground color.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The adult’s wingspan ranges from 12 to 14 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on oak species such as Quercus nigra and Quercus stellata. They live inside a shelter made by sandwiching two leaves together with silk.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The species was first described by Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1876.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range includes the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States and the Mississippi Valley up to Missouri and Illinois.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 23 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia.
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
What do the caterpillars of the yellow-vested moth eat?
They feed on oak leaves, especially Quercus nigra and Quercus stellata.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the yellow-vested moth found?
It occurs along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from southeastern Massachusetts down to central Florida and east Texas, and up the Mississippi Valley to Missouri and Illinois.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Depressariidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectiostoma_xanthobasis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.