Bug FAQNantucket Pine Tip Moth
Rhyacionia frustrana · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Tortricidae
Source: Wikipedia
The adult moth is tiny, with a wingspan of about 11 mm. Adults emerge in early spring, sometimes as early as February in Florida, and the species can have four to five generations each year there. Larvae feed on many pine species, which can harm pine forests and plantations.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The moth is very small, measuring roughly 11 mm across the wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan is about 11 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It occurs across the United States from Massachusetts down to Florida and west to Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and California, as well as in parts of the Caribbean and Central America.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on many pine species such as Pinus caribaea, P. banksiana, P. taeda, P. contorta, P. radiata, P. ponderosa, P. sylvestris and others.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults emerge in early spring, sometimes as early as February in Florida. In Florida the species can produce four to five generations per year.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults appear in early spring, with the earliest records in February in Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 26 of 51 states and DC. Most records: South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Missouri, California.
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 trees does the Nantucket pine tip moth damage?
Its larvae feed on many pine species, which can harm pine trees.
Source: Wikipedia
When do adult moths appear?
Adults emerge in early spring, sometimes as early as February in Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
How many generations are there per year?
In Florida the moth can have four to five generations each year.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is this moth found?
It is found throughout the United States from Massachusetts to Florida and west to Texas and California, as well as in the Caribbean and Central America.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Tortricidae)
Oblique-banded Leafroller MothChoristoneura rosaceanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Garden TortrixClepsis peritanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common MarbleSyricoris lacunanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Red-banded Leafroller MothArgyrotaenia velutinanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Light Brown Apple MothEpiphyas postvittanaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Aster and Reddish Eucosma Moths and AlliesEucosma parmatanaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyacionia_frustrana
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.