Lemon Plagodis
This morning I found three Lemon Plagodis and an Oak Besma perched on a Velcro strap that holds my moth sheet tight. Enjoy!
Cecropia
Hyalophora Cecropia isn't a moth that I expected to see at my moth light here in the mountains. I had a brief glimpse of one in Lake Waccamaw State Park in North Carolina fourteen years ago today (5/20/14). The only time I had one to examine up close and personal, I was a kid on the family farm in Delaware, 60+ years ago. Cecropias are the largest of our North American silkmoths and they are spectacular in their own right. Enjoy the pics!
When a digital photo really helps
Identifying insects (and other critters) is a reasonable method most of the time, but sometimes is impossible. An example is the Geometer moth genus Hydriomena. There are probably several species in our area, but the color and patterns on the wings are highly variable and cannot be used safely to distinguish species.
What moths do at night
Because we see moths at lights or resting quietly somewhere during the day, it's easy to forget that many of them sip nectar just like their butterfly cousins. Here are two that visited my butterfly bushes on August 31.
Orange-striped Oakworms
This is the wandering season for oakworms. They come down from the trees and look, sometimes at considerable distances from the trees, for places to pupate in the ground. My wife found one and later I found two more on the back porch. Here's the caterpillar.