Weekly Mothing, plus what the dog thinks of Sarah's newly nocturnal habits
Sadie grows less and less impressed with all this moth catching, measuring, studying, photographing, and photo editing.
Any time past 9 pm is past Sadie's bedtime. She sneaks into my (very small twin) bed and hogs not only all the covers, but the pillow too!
I wasn't going to put out my blacklight tonight, but driving home in the dark alerted me to quite a few moths flying around. After nothing but Phigalias and little moths that I would have to kill to identify, I finally got another species. Two more in one night! Here is what I believe to be a Gem Moth, Orthonama obstipata. Isn't that a nice common name for a shiny moth, even though it is brown, not gem-colored? Here's another moth that I can identify as a male; females have a white spot where males have a dark one.
Like the phigalias from early February, gem moths are also members of the geometer - aka inchworm - family, the second most numerous. This next moth is a noctuiid, or an owlet moth, the most numerous family in North America.
The unique pattern on this moth led me to believe it is a Common Oak Moth, Phoberia atomaris. This one has a much nicer latin name than common name. Common Oak Moths have a great deal of variety of color, from grays to browns, from light to dark. I looked at many examples of this species online and I am pretty sure that mine was the prettiest, hands down.
"Moth with Cutting Board and Stolen Pen From Work." Instant classic still life.
Any time past 9 pm is past Sadie's bedtime. She sneaks into my (very small twin) bed and hogs not only all the covers, but the pillow too!
I wasn't going to put out my blacklight tonight, but driving home in the dark alerted me to quite a few moths flying around. After nothing but Phigalias and little moths that I would have to kill to identify, I finally got another species. Two more in one night! Here is what I believe to be a Gem Moth, Orthonama obstipata. Isn't that a nice common name for a shiny moth, even though it is brown, not gem-colored? Here's another moth that I can identify as a male; females have a white spot where males have a dark one.
Like the phigalias from early February, gem moths are also members of the geometer - aka inchworm - family, the second most numerous. This next moth is a noctuiid, or an owlet moth, the most numerous family in North America.
The unique pattern on this moth led me to believe it is a Common Oak Moth, Phoberia atomaris. This one has a much nicer latin name than common name. Common Oak Moths have a great deal of variety of color, from grays to browns, from light to dark. I looked at many examples of this species online and I am pretty sure that mine was the prettiest, hands down.
"Moth with Cutting Board and Stolen Pen From Work." Instant classic still life.