Bug FAQDimorphic Gray
Tornos scolopacinaria · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae
The dimorphic gray moth has a wingspan of about 2.1 to 2.9 cm and shows different wing colours in males and females. It lives across North America, where the adults are seen from February through November and the larvae feed on asters and tickseed plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males have gray-brown wings with a dark round spot on the forewing. Females have mainly yellow-gray wings with dark gray edges.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan ranges from 2.1 to 2.9 cm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found throughout North America. The moths use asters and tickseed species as host plants.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on aster and tickseed plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are on the wing from February to November.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
The flight period extends from February through November.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range is North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 27 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants do the larvae feed on?
They use species of aster and tickseed as host plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Geometridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornos_scolopacinaria
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.