I found these eggs last month on Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) and Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) leaves. This macro view lets you see they are mostly white, not quite spherical, and feature two gold bands.
They are certainly tiny, and they are almost certainly moth eggs…but what species? I have enough of a difficult time sorting through the hundreds and hundreds of adult moths we see, let alone eggs! The closest match that I could find were those of the Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus) which would be exceptional. I saw some caterpillars had emerged with broken eggs and some snacked on leaves, though I never actually found any of them to better ascertain the identity. Still, it goes to show you how much wildlife is around us in places we may never notice if we were not looking for them and already aware of the possibility that they are there.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
