Moths

Io Moth

I know I haven’t been blogging lately but I have been busy catching up on labeling and organizing my photos. Specifically, I have been working with Curt Lehman and the website Butterflies and Moths of North America. He has confirmed my identifications and named photos when I was clueless. The records of what I have been seeing will be entered on the web site database. So far I think we are at around 300 species of moths.

Painted Lichen Moth (Hypoprepia fucosa)

We have been doing about 10 a day for at least a month now. I have photos of moths that have come to my porch light from 2004 through 2010. Last year I took photos every night that I was home when the weather cooperated.

Giant Leopard Moth  (Hypercompe scribonia )

After we figure out what they all are, I hope to contribute some of my photos to the web site but for now he is just entering a record of what was found in my county in West Virginia. It doesn’t seem like much but who knows, there could be one in the lot that extends the range for that species or showed up before it was supposed to.

Pyrausta bicoloralis

Besides I love to take photos of them and enjoy their subtle beauty

Horrid Zale (Zale horrida)

and sometimes no so subtle.

Ailanthus webworm moth (Atteva punctella)

Some are just plain strange.

Common Looper Moth (Autographa precationis)

Some don’t look like moths at all.

Yellow Collard Scape Moth (Cisseps fulvicollis)

It is a good project for anyone with a camera and I wish to encourage everyone to take photos and send them in to add to the records. It is good citizen science. The web site is: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/