A Weekend Of Wonderful Moths

I really thought that the "cooler" weather we've been experiencing here in the Carolinas over the last few weeks would put a damper on my moth obsession. (It's been dreary and drizzly with highs in the low 7o's and lows in the low 60's for weeks.) Much to my delight---I was WRONG! I've had some of the most beautiful moths I've ever seen in the last week!

This one (and maybe my favorite EVER--at least so far) is a Rasberry Crown Borer Moth (Pennisetia marginatum). I noticed them several days ago behind the education building and thought they were Yellow Jackets at first. But as I watched them--I noticed they did not BEHAVE like Yellow Jackets so I looked a little closer--and saw they had pectinate antenna. I called Alisha--because I knew she would be just as excited--and we got some great photos of them yesterday. They are so cool . . . .

While looking along the Blackberry thicket, we also came across this unbelievable beauty. It is the caterpillar for the Black-spotted Prominent moth. You can click here to see more images of both the moth and the caterpillar.

I believe this one is Epipagis huronalis (no common name). It was on the side of the Dollar General just above the park. What a spectacular specimen!

This one is a Dot-lined Wave (Artace cribrarius). So furry and soft!

This one got my attention as I walked into the door of the Dollar General! How could I pass by without noticing something so fantastic? I went back to the office and grabbed the camera. We've seen this one at the park--it is a Plebian Sphinx Moth (Paratrea plebeja).

I thought this one was a Green Marvel, but upon looking it up in several sources, I'm not so sure. I'll keep looking and see if I can find it . . . .

This Yellow-collared Scape Moth (Cisseps fulvicolis) landed briefly on the window as I was making my post yesterday evening! We had to close the blinds so we'd have a better background. And then it was off into the enveloping darkness. . . . .

This is one of the Loopers--but I've never seen one so metallic looking. I'll have to search BugGuide and Moth Photographers Group for images to see if I can find someone else's photo that looks similar.

This is another Looper--same species I presume--just at a different angle.

And lastly, this Brown-angle Shades Moth (Phlogophora periculosa) was on the education building Saturday. I loved how the wings looked "curled" on the outer edges. I actually moved this one to a nearby tree since some folks were having a wedding reception in the building and I didn't want it to get disturbed. I checked later in the day and it was still there--just had moved up the tree about five feet!