Bug FAQElegant Grass-veneer
Microcrambus elegans · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Crambidae
Also called: Elegant Grass-veneer Moth
The Elegant Grass-veneer moth has a wingspan of about 12 to 15 mm and silvery-white wings with brown shading. It lives in grassy areas across eastern North America, from Ontario and Quebec down to Florida and west to Texas, Kansas and Illinois. Larvae eat grasses in the Poaceae family; adults appear June-August in the north and March-October in the south.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The wings are silvery-white with brown shading, showing a “Halloween-mask” pattern of two triangular eye spots and a down-curved mouth, plus seven black dots along the lower edge of the forewings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from 12 to 15 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Most often found in grassy habitats.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on grasses belonging to the Poaceae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
One generation per year in northern parts of its range, with multiple generations in the south.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are active June-August in the north and March-October in the south.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Occurs from Ontario, Quebec and Maine down to Florida, and west to Texas, Kansas and Illinois.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
The species has long, hairy sensory tympanal organs attached to the mouth, giving a snout-like look common to the Crambinae subfamily.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 38 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, Alabama, Ohio, Michigan.
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
Same family (Crambidae)
Box Tree MothCydalima perspectalisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Celery Leaftier MothUdea rubigalisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Hawaiian Beet Webworm MothSpoladea recurvalisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Garden Grass-veneerChrysoteuchia culmellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Bluegrass Webworm MothParapediasia teterrellusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Lucerne MothNomophila nearcticaDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcrambus_elegans
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.