Lesser Maple Spanworm Face
Here is a face to face of sorts with the Lesser Maple Spanworm (Speranza pustularia). They seem to be relatively common in my experience this year, and they have a somewhat long flight season compared to some others that I have not seen repeatedly when mothing. What big eyes you have! All the better to see you with… Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreOak Sparganothis Moth
National Moth Week continues! This moth looks to be an Oak Sparganothis (Cenopis diluticostana). It is another little gem that would otherwise go unnoticed if it did not join me at the mothing lights. Putting a ruler next to some of these individuals would be helpful, but considering how jumpy some can be and how tough it can be to get set up to take a decent photo of these creatures I am going to have to wait on that. This was probably a little less than a centimeter in length. Amazingly there are some that are half the size! Even when they are right in front of you some of them can be...
Read MoreAmerican Ermine Moth
These look to be the American Ermine moth (Yponomeuta multipunctella), a common if tiny sighting in the middle of the summer. These individuals helped me sight them by coming to the porch light at night, but I have seen a few in random places even during the day, including one on the door of my Jeep a couple weeks ago. In fact today while running out I saw another very small moth that I did not know on the Jeep…moths are everywhere, all the time! Keep an eye or two open… Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreDouble-banded Grass-veneer Moth
This looks to be a Double-banded Grass-veneer moth (Crambus agitatellus), and I thank it for leaving the grass to provide these easier views. When you are walking through some lawn or short grass and see tiny moths kick up briefly from the ground they are often grass-veneer species like this one that were hiding on long blades out of your sight. If something like this can go so easily unnoticed what else are we missing in the natural world around us? Always be observing! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreSuzuki’s Promalactis (Promalactis suzukiella)
Happy National Moth Week! We will be showing you many cool species over the next week so we can all appreciate these incredible insects even more. I have a bunch of individuals that I still have to key out from mothing during the past couple of months, and I have tried to do some field work at least every week or two with them. This was one of my first finds last night, and I swear that I knew immediately when looking at it that it would be a non-native species. It seemed divergent to me in some way. Even though many North American moths are staggeringly beautiful, with vibrant shades, odd...
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