moths
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Some Moths
This pandemic year, I have spent an inordinate amount of time chasing little flutters arising erratically from the grass. By “chasing,” I mean inadvertently flushing a moth and then watching where it lands, usually close by. Above is a Velvetbean Caterpillar Moth (Anticarsia gemmatalis). The ubiquitous Green Cloverworm Moth (Hypena scabra), posed against some Orange…
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Sad Underwing
What a stupid common name for Catocala maestosa. This fabulous riot of patterning isn’t sad. Methinks the guy who came up with a lot of the common names for our moths, especially the underwings — the Girlfriend, Sweetheart, Magdalen, Once-Married, Mother, Semirelict, Darling, Bride, Tearful, Widow, Obscure, Betrothed, Penitent — had some issues, as they…
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Moth O’clock
A White-speck Moth landed on my thigh, took to my palm, walked around to my arm, and then was coaxed onto a tree. Raspberry Pyrausta Moth, stirred up as I walked by. Dogwood Borer Moth. Just sitting there.
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National Moth Week: Polyphemus
A one centimeter-long instar of the Polyphemus Moth on a white oak leaf in Green-Wood. It’ll get bigger…the final instar can be 6cm long (about 2.5″). If this survives all the vicissitudes, it will pupate and return next year as a large moth. Found last winter: I think these are all Polyphemus cocoons. From this…
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Mite-y Cargo
A blue-form female Familiar Bluet, I think. About three blocks from the nearest water body. The edge of this parking lot was weedy– more recently every bit of greenery was removed. But it’s already sprouting back… Anyway, the damselfly turned out to be laden with cargo. These red things are water mites, hitching a ride.…
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Squash Vine Borer Moth
Wow! Nectaring on common milkweed, this moth is just a little bigger than a Western Honeybee. Have you ever seen one? I never had until Friday. You might know them from your zucchinis. The caterpillars of Melitta curcurbitae love to eat summer and winter squashes, but if this is your reward, perhaps a little homage…
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A Very Small Jelly Donut?
Spotted this small object on a swamp white oak leaf yesterday. With help from iNaturalist and Tracks and Signs of Insects, I learned that it’s an egg of a Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus). You may recall that I found a half dozen of the large cocoons of this species over the winter. I’ve seen several…
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Discovery Week III
The Elegant Grass-veneer moth (Microcrambus elegans).Common and widespread. The larvae feed on grasses. The adults flit about in the grass, stirred up by your footfall. This one leapt up onto a leaf to focus my attention. Here’s what I think is a Double-banded Grass-Veneer (Crambus agitatellus), another grass-lover and photo-challenge. The fuzzy, brush-like fronts of…
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Cocoons
Over the weekend I found four large silkworm cocoons. This one was hanging in an oak. This one was on the ground. I turned it over to see the other side. Coin is just over an inch in diameter. There was an oak overhead…. Another in a willow oak (at perhaps half a mile’s distance…
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11th Month Insecta
There are still a few insects in the cold. On Friday, this wasp, bumble bee, and fly were active. There were other flies about, and other impossible-to-photograph diptera, and a lovely leaf-hopper or two. Some kind of gall on a crab apple. Exit hole visible. Remember last January when I found a large cocoon that…
Backyard and Beyond 