Sept. 12, 2021 - Moths-2

Here’s the second group of the most interesting moths I photographed this summer.

Spots, circles, curved lines, and squiggly lines decorate the wings of a Bold-feathered Grass Moth. It has a wingspan of slightly more than one inch. Its caterpillar is part of a group often referred to as grass or sod webworms. Low lying plants, including violets, are food for the caterpillar.

GrassMothBoldfeatheredHerpetogrammapertextalisDunningLakeItascaCounty20210815

The Pale Metanema is another small moth with a wingspan of 1 to 1.4 inches. Identifying features include the two pale lines crossing its wings and the small brown spots on each fore wing. The brown patches at the end of the wings make it look like they have been singed. Its caterpillar feeds on forest trees, especially Aspen and Poplar.

MothMetanemaPaleinatomariaDunningLakeItascaCounty20210717

Straight-lined Plagodis is the name of this moth. It has a wingspan of about one inch. Its caterpillar also feeds on the leaves of many different kinds of forest trees.

MothPlagodisStraightlinedphlogosariaDunningLakeItascaCounty20210716

Here’s another small moth with two lines crossing its wings. This is a Northern Petrophora. It has a wingspan of only ¾ inch. Its caterpillar feeds on ferns.

PetrophoraNorthernsubaequariaDunningLakeItascaCounty20210518

The Lesser Maple Spanworm is aptly named because its caterpillar feeds mostly on Maple leaves. The moth has a wingspan of ¾ to 1 inch. It has white wings with brown markings. On some individuals, only the four spots along the outer edges of the wings are present. On others, almost complete lines go across the wings.

SpanwormLesserMapleSperanzaMacariapustulariaDunningLakeItascaCounty20210710

The large brown patches on its yellow wings make a Sharp-lined Yellow moth look like a wilting leaf. It has a wingspan of 1 to 1¼ inches. As is common with many moths, its caterpillar feeds on the leaves of many shrubs and deciduous trees.

YellowSharplinedSicyamaculariaDunningLakeItascaCounty20210709

Most moths, when perched, hold their wings flat against the surface they are on. One group, the Prominents, folds their wings like a tent over their abdomens. This is a Sigmoid Prominent. When it is perched like this, wingspan isn’t very meaningful. A better idea of its size might be the total length from head to end of abdomen, which is about ¾ inch.

ProminentSigmoidClosteraalbosigmaDunningLakeItascaCounty20210518