Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Moths from Sussex County

I already wrote a bit about visits to Muckshaw Ponds Preserve and Whittingham WMA. Those posts focused on the birds and dragonflies that I encountered at those two locations. In this post, I would like to show a few moths from the two preserves.

The first is a moth that was new to me. As I was trying to extricate myself from an overgrown path at Muckshaw Ponds, this tiny moth fluttered up and landed on a vine. It is a White-striped Black (Trichodezia albovittata), a type of geometer. This species is a denizen of wet woods; in its caterpillar stage, it feeds on jewelweed (Impatiens sp.).

This moth is a Wavy-lined Zanclognatha (Zanclognatha jacchusalis). Like other moths in subfamily Herminiinae, its caterpillars probably feed on dead leaves on the forest floor. The dense shade from the forest canopy meant that I had to use the camera's flash on this moth and the ones above and below it even though the day was bright and sunny.

I found Speckled Renia Moths (Renia adspergillus) at both preserves. This moth species is very common in this area; I have found it at home and elsewhere on several occasions.

Finally, this Confused Eusarca (Eusarca confusaria) was on one of the side paths at Whittingham WMA. I have yet to see a good explanation of what makes this moth confused.