Moths in Iowa: What's Flying Tonight

In Iowa right now, mid-summer nights feature the migratory Lucerne Moth (Nomophila nearctica), the Ailanthus Webworm Moth (Atteva punctella), the small pink-and-yellow Chickweed Geometer (Haematopis grataria), and the Green Cloverworm Moth (Hypena scabra). Earlier in spring you'll find the Lettered Sphinx's relatives, the Inscribed Sphinx (Deidamia inscriptum), and the woolly-bear Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella). The exact lineup on any given night depends on your date and location across Iowa's prairie and farm country.

What's flying in Iowa right now

Iowa is prairie-and-cornbelt country, and its summer moths are mostly small, common, and widespread. The Lucerne Moth (Nomophila nearctica) is a long-winged grass moth that migrates across the Plains in numbers. The Ailanthus Webworm Moth (Atteva punctella), orange with white spots, is tied to the invasive tree-of-heaven and flies both day and night. You'll also see the tiny Chickweed Geometer (Haematopis grataria) in lawns and field edges, Microcrambus elegans, the Green Cloverworm Moth (Hypena scabra), the Common Tan Wave (Pleuroprucha insulsaria), and Eucosma giganteana, a tortricid tied to prairie rosinweed.

Spring vs early fall

In May, Iowa's sheet draws the Inscribed Sphinx (Deidamia inscriptum) - an early-season hawk moth that feeds as an adult and flies on grapevine and Virginia creeper - alongside the Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella) whose larva is the woolly bear, the Oak Besma (Besma quercivoraria), the Fall Webworm Moth (Hyphantria cunea), and the Common Gray (Anavitrinella pampinaria). Spring mothing rewards mild, calm evenings before the summer heat.

By September, the night shifts to the fast-flying White-lined Sphinx (Hyles lineata) at flowers and lights, the Chickweed Geometer (Haematopis grataria), the Corn Earworm Moth (Helicoverpa zea), again the Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella), and the Virginian Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica). Fall is prime woolly-bear season as those caterpillars cross Iowa sidewalks looking for shelter.

Local mothing tips

• A UV or mercury-vapor light over a white sheet pulls in many more moths than a plain LED porch bulb. Moths come to short-wavelength light because it disrupts their flight orientation, not because they hunt the bulb.
• Prairie remnants, oak savannas, and river corridors like the Des Moines and Mississippi bottomlands are productive - but a farm-edge backyard works too on the right night.
• Choose warm, humid, still, moonless evenings. The good-night-for-moths score helps you pick.

See tonight's Iowa list

Run the live tool for the species most likely flying at your exact spot tonight from open GBIF records. New to it? Start with mothing for beginners, browse all states, or join in for National Moth Week (July 18-26, 2026).