Moths in Virginia

If you run a porch light or a sheet in Virginia, the moths you see depend heavily on the date. In late spring the records are dominated by the eastern tent caterpillar moth (Malacosoma americana) and the leaf-green luna moth (Actias luna), alongside the snowberry clearwing (Hemaris diffinis), a fuzzy day-and-dusk sphinx that hovers like a small bumblebee. By midsummer the lineup shifts to the orange-and-black ailanthus webworm moth (Atteva punctella), the big rusty imperial moth (Eacles imperialis), the hummingbird clearwing (Hemaris thysbe), and the banded tussock moth (Halysidota tessellaris). June is the peak window for several showy giant silkmoths: the io moth (Automeris io) with its startling eyespots, and the pink-and-yellow rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda). Come fall, the woolly bear's adult, the Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia isabella), tops the records, joined by the Virginian tiger moth (Spilosoma virginica) and fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea). Winter is quieter but not empty: looper-like geometrids such as the fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria) and Phigalia species fly in the cold. This page is built from the moth species most often recorded in Virginia in open GBIF data, broken out by month so you know roughly what is on the wing right now.

Which Virginia moths peak in spring versus summer versus fall?

The biggest thing the Virginia data shows is turnover. The species filling the records in April are mostly gone by August, and the fall flyers barely register in spring. Three rough waves stand out.

Late spring (April-May). The single most-recorded moth in Virginia's April and May data is the eastern tent caterpillar moth (Malacosoma americana) - those silk tents in wild cherry and apple in early spring are its larvae, and the tan adults flood lights soon after. April is also when the luna moth (Actias luna) first shows up in numbers, climbing higher in May. May adds the leaf litter moth Malthaca dimidiata in surprising abundance, the tulip-tree looper Epimecis hortaria, and a steady run of the polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus), a big tan silkmoth with single eyespots on each hindwing. The forest tent caterpillar moth (Malacosoma disstria) rides alongside its cousin.

Mid-summer (June-August). This is Virginia's richest stretch and the best time for charismatic moths. June is the standout month for giant silkmoths: the io moth (Automeris io), whose yellow forewings hide two big blue-and-black eyespots, the pink-and-lemon rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda), and the giant leopard moth (Hypercompe scribonia) with its open-circle black spots. July brings the imperial moth (Eacles imperialis), a large yellow-and-purple-brown silkmoth, plus both Virginia clearwings - the snowberry clearwing (Hemaris diffinis) and the hummingbird clearwing (Hemaris thysbe) - and the clymene moth (Haploa clymene), often called the "Crusader" for the dark cross on its cream forewings. By August the ailanthus webworm moth (Atteva punctella) tops the records, with the banded tussock moth (Halysidota tessellaris) and luna still flying strong, plus the white American dagger moth (Acronicta americana).

Fall (September-November). September still has heavy ailanthus webworm and brings the fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) and Virginian tiger moth (Spilosoma virginica) to the front, along with the white-marked tussock moth (Orgyia leucostigma). October belongs to the Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia isabella) by a wide margin - the adult of the famous banded "woolly bear" caterpillar - joined by autumn noctuids like Agrochola bicolorago and Choephora fungorum. By November the flight thins to a handful of cold-hardy species.

What flies in a Virginia winter?

Virginia mothing does not fully stop in winter. December's records are led by the fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria), a thin grayish geometrid whose males fly in the cold while the wingless females crawl up trunks. January and February keep up a low hum of geometrids - Phigalia denticulata, Phigalia strigataria, Paleacrita vernata (the spring cankerworm) - plus the bagworm moth (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis) and the woolly bear's Isabella tiger moth, which overwinters as a caterpillar and turns up year-round. Even a few giant silkmoth records (polyphemus, cecropia) appear in the cold-month data. If you want winter moths in Virginia, watch tree trunks and lit walls on the mildest nights.

Which charismatic Virginia moths should I watch for?

Virginia has a strong cast of "wow" moths in the records. The luna moth (Actias luna) is the headliner - pale green, long-tailed, on the wing from April clear through August here. The giant silkmoths are well represented: polyphemus (Antheraea polyphemus), cecropia (Hyalophora cecropia, North America's largest moth, in the cooler-month data), io (Automeris io), and imperial (Eacles imperialis). The rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) is a tiny, candy-colored silkmoth worth waiting for in June. For hawkmoths, both Hemaris clearwings buzz flowers by day. And the tiger moths are everywhere late season - Isabella, Virginian, and the bold giant leopard moth.

This list reflects the moth species most often recorded in Virginia in open-licensed GBIF data, aggregated over an approximate Virginia area. It is a "most-recorded / most likely" snapshot, not an exhaustive checklist - Virginia has well over a thousand moth species, and rarer or under-recorded ones will not appear here. Records skew toward where people observe and photograph, so well-watched areas are over-represented.

How do I get tonight's personalized Virginia list?

Enter your location and Tonight's Moths builds a list ranked for your exact spot and the current date, drawn from these GBIF records near you - so a night in the Blue Ridge reads differently from one on the Coastal Plain. We also score the night for mothing using weather and moon data: warm, still, humid, overcast nights around a new moon tend to bring the most moths to a light, while cold, windy, bright-moon nights score lower. We are a forecast and discovery tool, not an identifier - when you want to confirm what landed on your sheet, upload your photo to iNaturalist or check a regional guide.