One of our day lilies
I am fascinated by the stigma
A geometer moth
Another, different, brown geometer moth
Bumblebee on red clover
Five-toed raccoon track and tiny, round Zorro the Cat
tracks in the mud after a flash flood.
Dwarf zinnia that Ironman successfully planted
They bloomed continuously until the first heavy frost in September.
A Carolina grasshopper
Yellow woolly bear caterpillar
An unidentified warbler
Question Mark Butterfly
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As I match larvae and moths / butterflies, I have photographs of seven species for which I cannot find photographs of the larvae on the Internet. Perhaps one of you knows where a photo exists and could leave a comment and let me know. Thank you!
| Name | My Photo |
| White-spotted Sable Moth |  |
| Large Maple Spanworm Moth |  |
| Common Ringlet Butterfly |  |
| Bristly Cutworm Moth |  |
| Modest Sphinx Moth |  |
| Unmarked Dagger Moth |  |
| Dark Marbled Carpet Moth |  |
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Remember the four moths that I had not identified awhile back? They are now identified and I was wrong about two. Two are sphinx moths, one is a dagger moth and another is a prominent moth. All four are new species in my photographic collections. I thought I should update the post so that my photographs would be properly organized and labeled.
The moth above is a Modest Sphinx moth (Pachysphinx modesta). It is called modest because it looks as if it modestly covers itself with a cape of lighter brown. You can find more information on it here at bugguide.net.
The moth above is from in the Noctuidae family (owlet moths). It is genus Acronicta (dagger moths), and species innotata or an Unmarked Dagger moth. I have a couple of other owlet moths in my collection, so I am please to be adding this. But it sure looks like a sphinx! You can read more about this pretty one here at bugguide.net.
The moth above is a Mottled Prominent moth (Macrurocampa marthesia). This identification was a complete surprise for me. I don’t think I have any prominent moth photographs outside of this one (and its not a good shot!). According to bugguide.net “The original description of the species by Pieter Cramer was published in 1780 (some sources say 1779) with the name Phalaena marthesia Listed by some sources as Fentonia marthesia.” I don’t know about you, but I’m amazed that they were doing in 1780 what I am doing now!
The last moth, above, is the other sphinx moth. It is a Waved sphinx moth (Ceratomia undulosa).It is one of “our most common sphinx moths,” Waved “refers to the wavy lines on the adult's forewing.” Both quotations here are from the article at bugguide.net.
After being fooled as I was by thinking that all big, furry moths were sphinx moths, I reviewed what sphinx moths look like (and learned why I was confused): (source, of course, is bugguide.net):
Medium to very large. Body very robust; abdomen usually tapering to a sharp point. Wings usually narrow; forewing sharp-pointed or with an irregular outer margin. No ocelli or tympanal organs. Proboscis usually well developed, extremely long in some species that feed in flowers with deep calyxes. Antennae gradually thicken along length, then become narrower toward tip.
Larvae naked except for a few scattered hairs. Most have a prominent dorsal horn at the tip of abdomen (thus the name, hornworms).
Some are active only at night, others at twilight or dawn, and some, such as the clearwings (e.g. genus Hemaris - not to be confused with the Clearwing family, Sesiidae) feed on flower nectar during the day.
Some larvae (hornworms) do serious damage to crop plants (e.g. tomato, tobacco, potato). Hornworms are often attacked by braconid wasp parasitoids.
Other common names for sphinx moths are hawk moths (for adults) and hornworms (for the larvae or caterpillars).
I hope this clears everything up for all of us!
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| Bristly Cutworm Moth (Lacinipolia renigera) |
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| The still unidentified seagull. |
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| Firefly (Family Lampyridae, Genus Photuris) |
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| Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) |
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| Curved-toothed geometer moth (Eutrapela clemataria) |
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| Caddisfly (Trichoptera) |
from About.com: Insects: Satin Moths:The Eurasian native Satin Moth, Leucoma salicis, was introduced to North America accidentally in the early 1920s. The original populations in New England and British Columbia gradually spread inland, but predation and parasites seem to be keeping this insect pest largely under control. Satin Moths feed on poplar, aspen, cottonwood, and willow.
The Satin Moth has a unique life cycle with one generation each year. Adult moths mate and lay eggs in the summer months, and caterpillars hatch from those eggs in the late summer and early fall. The tiny caterpillars feed for a short time before they hide in a bark crevice and spin a web for hibernation. The Satin Moth then overwinters in the caterpillar form, an unusual way to survive the cold. In spring, they re-emerge and feed again, this time reaching their full size of nearly 2 inches before pupating in June.
This individual was on my porch screen on Friday night.
