Clouded Crimson Moth

Schinia gaurae · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae

Also called: Clouded Crimson

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Clouded Crimson Moth
Photo: Colin Croft, CC BY

The clouded crimson moth belongs to the Noctuidae family and has a wingspan of about 30 to 32 mm. It lives across much of North America, from the Midwest to the southern United States and into Mexico, and adults fly from June to August.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Schinia gaurae, called the clouded crimson, is a moth in the Noctuidae family.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

The wingspan measures roughly 30 to 32 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

The caterpillars feed on plants of the genus Gaura.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

In northern parts of its range there is one generation per year, while in Missouri there are two generations.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults are on the wing from June through August, depending on location.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range includes much of the United States and southern Canada.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 27 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi.

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

Questions people ask

When are clouded crimson moths active?

Adults fly from June to August, with timing varying by region.

Source: Wikipedia

How many generations do they have?

One generation occurs in the north, while two generations are seen in Missouri.

Source: Wikipedia

What do the larvae eat?

The caterpillars feed on Gaura species.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Noctuidae)

Sources

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

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.