Most of the moths I have seen so far this year have been subtly colored, with varying shades of gray and brown. (See, for example, the
Green Cloverworm Moth I posted yesterday, or
this group.) Now that the weather has gotten warmer (and boy, has it gotten warmer!), I am starting to see some more colorful individuals.
The moth at the top of this post appears to be a
Boxwood Leaftier (
Galasa nigrinodis) in the family Pyralidae. The primary known host plants for this species are boxwoods (
Buxus sp.), which are not native to North America. Presumably it evolved to feed on a native plant, but so far that plant's identity is unknown. Despite its bright red and white coloration, this moth proved to be more difficult to identify than I expected, mainly because I was looking for it in the wrong families. Luckily, one of my Flickr contacts set me straight.
The second moth is a
Yellow-fringed Dolichomia (
Dolichomia olinalis), also in Pyralidae. Larvae of this species feed on oaks, of which there are plenty in my neighborhood. This was another moth that I had trouble figuring out until I came across a Flickr contact's photos of the same species. It seems that the yellow triangles at the leading edges of the forewings distinguish it from similar species.
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