A tiny moth in the Owlet Moth family (Noctuidae). The Common Spragueia (Spragueia leo), sipping some nectar at Apple Mint blossoms (Mentha suaveolens). Tiny? They are generally no bigger than 7/10 inch.
Like many moths, they are nocturnal, and attracted to artificial light sources. Some of the host plants that are depended on are Ragweed (Ambrosia), and Bindweed (Convolvulus).
I like the coloring of this creature. All dressed for Halloween.
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This an American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus) blending in with its surroundings. This common toad is quite variable in its coloring, which can be brown, gray, olive or brick red. I was lucky to stumple upon this one since they are mainly noctural. During the day they seek hiding places such as under rocks, boards, woodpiles, or porches.
This apparently is a small American Toad since they range in size from 2 to 3.5 inches with a few reaching 4.25 inches. It’s making its way through a clump of Rose Campion (Silene coronaria) fuzzy silver-gray leaves. If you know this plant, you know that their leaves are not very large.
Though they won’t actually give you warts, toads secrete toxins through their skin which can cause irritation or sometimes illness if those chemicals come in contact with one’s eyes or mouth. It’s important to wash your hands after touching a toad.
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And the award for the best costume goes to the Camouflaged Looper (Synchlora aerata). A little inch worm which generally is no larger than 1/2 inch in length. The challenge of the Camouflaged Looper being an inch worm is that inch worms are a favorite food of many birds. And this challenge is met with an extremely clever costume.
This amazing effort of the Camouflaged Looper to blend in with its surroundings is called “crypsis.” Much like another word – crypt – which comes from the Greek word “apokruphos” meaning secretive or to hide.
Their clever costume is created by selecting snippets of plants they are wandering through. Snippets that are fastened to their body with bits of silk in hopes that birds will not recognize them as dinner.
This costume is replaced nearly everyday keeping those snippets, the petals or leaves or seeds which constitute its disguise fresh and able to blend in with the plant that the Camouflaged Looper is nibbling on.
When the remarkably shrewd inch worm pupates, it transforms into a Wavy Lined Emerald Moth which is a small, soft shade of green, moth, found through much of eastern North America. Being nocturnal the adults can be found fluttering around your porch light at night. If you happen to find one of these Camouflaged Loopers costumed in your garden, savor its ability, enjoy its cleverness. They don’t show up in large numbers. They are no threat to your garden plants. Simply admire them.
An August night. Open windows. Insects making lovely sounds in the inky darkness. A precious friend of mine told me that when her children were young they believed the night sounds of summer were the stars singing.
Those sounds in the night in reality are Katydids (Tettigoniidae). Cool green insects. In North America there are about 255 species of Katydids.
Most Katydids are noctunal and those sounds you hear in the night are their mating calls. This sound is made by rubbing a hind leg on one wing. They have flat patches on their legs that act as ears which allow them to hear the sounds that are made during the night.
Like moths, leave on your porch light and Katydids will be attracted to the bright light.
Katydids have the perfect camouflage for leaf-eaters, looking just like the leaves they are eating. They’ll also eat flowers, dead insects, insect eggs, or aphids that are slow enough to be caught by the Katydids. But I will always remember the thought of those beautiful stars on a warm summer night singing like a chorus of Katydids!
Not brightly colored. Not large. But a butterfly. Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela).Not dull colors. Certainly not small. But a moth. Luna Moth (Luna Moth (Actias luna).
I keep reading about moths having drab colors and butterflies having bright colors. Don’t depend on that to decide which you are looking at. There are brightly colored moths. And there butterflies that have dull colors. I also see it being said that moths are small and butterflies are large. That can’t be depended on either. There are very large moths and very small butterflies. Another point I often read: moths are nocturnal and butterflies are diurnal. But in reality there are butterflies that are nocturnal and there are also moths that are diurnal.
The feathery antennae of a male Yellow-collared Scape Moth (Cisseps fulvicollis).The sawtoothed antennae of a female Black and Yellow Lichen Moth (Lycomorpha pholus).
One thing you can depend on in looking to see if you’re seeing a moth or a butterfly is their antennae. Male moths have feathery antennae while female moths have sawtoothed antennae.
A butterfly with its antennae. Long shafts with club-like bulbs at the ends. Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis).
A butterfly’s antennae are long shafts with club-like bulbs at the ends. A moth’s antennae, whether a male or female, do not have those bulbs on the ends.
Yesterday a dear friend let me know that we’re in the middle of National Moth Week (July 17-25, 2021). I had no idea such a thing existed! But now, with that in mind, I present the Lesser Maple Spanworm Moth (Speranza pustularia). Like many moths, this one is nocturnal and is attracted to porch lights. Their favorite host plant is Red Maple but will settle for other Maple trees, and many others trees like Birch, Poplar, Fir, and Hemlock. After mating females lay their eggs on host tree branches in the fall. Surprisingly those eggs survive through the winter, hatching in late spring or early summer. The caterpillar pupates, or creates a cocoon and takes about ten days to emerge as a moth, at the end of summer. And then the whole process begins again.
