Sept. 10, 2017 - Moths

At our lake home in northern Minnesota, I like to turn on the outside porch light at night to see what kind of moths I can attract. Usually they land on the side of the house but this Venerable Dart chose my finger as a resting spot. This is an effective way to show you how small it is. All the moths in today’s pictures are about this size: ¾ inch to 1¼ inches.

DartVenerableAgrotisvenerabilisDunningLakeItascaCounty20170830

This Modest Furcula moth has some shiny spots that reflect the light from my camera flash unit.

MothFurculaModestmodestaDunningLakeItascaCounty20170720

I like the intricate patterns on the Lettered Habrosyne moth.

MothHabrosyneLetteredHabrosynescriptaDunningLakeItascaCounty20170720

It’s a little hard to show in a 2-dimensional photo, but the outer edges of the wings of this Dark-spotted Palthis moth actually fold back over the insect.

MothPalthisDarkspottedangulalisDunningLakeItascaCounty20170830

This is a Chestnut-marked Pondweed moth.

PondweedChestnutmarkedParapoynxbadiusalisDunningLakeItascaCounty20170826

Most moths are only out at night but a few, like this Toothed Somberwing, fly during the day. I photographed this one as it rested on a fern.

MothSomberwingToothedEuclideacuspideaourwindturbineDunningLakeItascaCounty20170702