Bug FAQPhragmites Wainscot
Leucania phragmitidicola · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae
Also called: Phragmites Wainscot Moth
The Phragmites wainscot moth has tan forewings with gray-brown streaks, paler veins and a black discal spot. A pale vein runs from the wing base to the spot and is edged in brown. It occurs in the eastern United States and Canada, with adults recorded from February to November, most often April to October.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The forewings are tan with gray and brown streaks, have paler veins, and a black spot near the centre. A pale vein runs from the wing base to the spot and is edged in brown.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives in the eastern United States and Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are seen from February through November, most often April to October.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 33 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Michigan, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, New York.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Noctuidae)
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Silver ΥAutographa gamma
American DaggerAcronicta americanaCan irritate skinSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucania_phragmitidicola
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.