Bug FAQYpsolopha cervella
Ypsolopha cervella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Ypsolophidae
The Ypsolopha cervella moth has a wingspan of about 19 mm and shows several adult color forms. It lives along the Pacific coast from Vancouver Island down to San Diego County and inland to Arizona, where its caterpillars feed on red and white oak species such as Quercus chrysolepis and Q. gambelii. Adults emerge in June and there is one generation each year.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults display multiple color patterns.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan is roughly 19 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on oak trees in the red oak (Erythrobalanus) and white oak (Lepidobalanus) groups, including Quercus chrysolepis and Q. gambelii.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults emerge in June and show polymorphic coloration.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes the Pacific coast of North America from Vancouver Island to San Diego County and extends inland to Arizona.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 3 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Washington, Kansas.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the caterpillars of Ypsolopha cervella eat?
The larvae feed on red and white oak species, such as Quercus chrysolepis and Q. gambelii.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Ypsolophidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ypsolopha_cervella
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.