July 28, 2013 - Bayfield Moths

Our trip to Bayfield, Wisconsin, lasted a week and each night I turned on the porch light to see if I could attract some moths. This one is called Pale Beauty and is found over most of North America. It has a wingspan of 1 – 2 inches, with females being much larger than males. Its caterpillar is known to feed on 65 different species of trees and shrubs.

MothBeautyPaleBayfield20130624

This interesting species is called an American Lappet Moth. It has a unique resting position as shown here: hind wings flat on the surface and forewings held up in a tent-like shape. This resting position, and the reddish-brown color, makes it look like a dried leaf. This is a fairly small moth, ½ - 1 inch from head to tail.

MothLappetAmericanBayfield20130628

Here’s a Straw Besma, a fairly plain, almost translucent moth. It’s found from Nova Scotia and Quebec south to North Carolina, and west to Manitoba and Missouri. It has a wingspan of 1 – 1½ inches. Sugar Maple is the preferred food for its caterpillar.

MothStrawBesmaendropiariaBayfield20130626

This White-fringed Emerald seems to be appropriately named. It has a wingspan of about an inch and is found in eastern Canada and the eastern half of the United States, except in the far south. This is another species whose caterpillar feeds on the leaves of a great variety of trees.

MothWhitefringedEmeraldBayfield20130626

I think this is a rather nice looking moth. It has a wingspan of about 1½ inches. When I found out it is named Horrid Zale, I wondered what would make someone give it such a name. Here’s the explanation from the website bugguide.net.

The German entomologist Jacob Hubner, 1761-1826, named this species. A naturalist, John Himmelman quotes a friend, Eric Metzler, on the origin: Latin "horridus" (adjectival “horrida”) means "standing on end, sticking out, rough, shaggy, bristly, prickly.” Aha! So Hubner did not think this was a horrifying moth at all! “Horrid” means "bristly" and refers to the bristles on the thorax.

I was glad to read that because I didn’t think it looked horrid at all.

MothZaleHorridBayfield20130627

At least a half dozen of these spectacular One-eyed Sphinx Moths came to the light one evening. They are large moths with a wingspan up to 2¼ inches. This is one of the many sphinx moths that have well-camouflaged forewings and brightly colored hind wings. On the left side you can see a little part of the hind wing with its red color and big black and blue “eye spot.”

MothSphinxOneeyedBayfield20130627