Orange-Spotted Pyrausta and Other Excuses

Yes, I've been working on another Jeremiah post, but then I had to do a whole bunch of work outside, which is how I got a crappy phone pic of an Orange-Spotted Pyrausta …


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… also known as the Orange Mint moth, because the larvae feed on plants in the mint family. This tiny moth, maybe 1/3" at its widest, was on some tansy by my garden.

Then I had to clean up some tree limbs knocked down during our latest storm. This dragonfly kept hanging around on the dead limbs:



The insect ID app I was using (PictureInsect) said this was a Ruddy Darter, but when I look those up on the internet, I'm told they live in England, not Indiana. Maybe it's an Autumn Meadowhawk?


Anyway … then the Humane Society of Hobart asked me to take a new foster:



He just had a leg amputated, and he will be recovering from surgery at my house for another 10 days. He's all by himself in the foster room, so I have to spend time with him. And time I spend with Charles is time I can't spend with Jeremiah.

Mystery Pupa

I found this thing while digging in an old raised bed where I used to grow raspberries but now grow goldenrod and poison ivy.

It is definitely alive. It wiggled slowly.


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(It's shiny with water because I rinsed the dirt off for the photos.)






I asked the nice people on the IN Nature Facebook group for ID help. The consensus is that it's a moth pupa, probably some kind of Sphinx moth.

Bent-Line Dart

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This Bent-Line Dart moth posed for a photo on my screen door before flying away. They are autumn moths, appearing in September through November. This one appeared September 30.

The caterpillar feeds on dandelions, clover, trefoil, and tobacco. I have plenty of the first three but no tobacco at all.

Clearwing Things

This is a Snowberry Clearwing caterpillar hanging out by my garden shed.


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It will turn into a moth that hovers over the flowers where it's drinking nectar.

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This is a rather ragged Hummingbird Clearwing moth hanging out on my sunflower.


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You can tell it from a Snowberry Clearwing by its pale legs.

The caterpillar can be distinguished from the Snowberry Clearwing caterpillar by the stripe running lengthwise on its body, and its blue (rather than black) tail.

Grapevine Looper and Sawfly Larva

This moth was on a Virginia Creeper vine in my field.


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Grapevine Looper moths come in Greater and Lesser varieties, but they are very hard to tell apart without measurements. I couldn't get measurements on this guy; I was lucky just to get a picture.

The moth gets its name from its caterpillar, which feeds on grapevines and Virginia Creeper, and forms a loop shape when it walks.

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Here is a many-legged critter that the nice people in the IN Nature group on Facebook helped me to identify as a sawfly larva.


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The adults are called sawflies because their ovipositors resemble saws.

Isabella Tiger Moth

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With so many Woolly Bear caterpillars around here all the time, you'd think I would have seen an Isabella Tiger Moth before now.

The adult moth has a lifespan of five to ten days. Maybe that has something to do with why I don't see them. The larvae, as far as I can tell, have a very, very long lifespan.

I've been trying to find out why it's called the Isabella Tiger Moth, but no one says anything about that. There's plenty about the folklore around Woolly Bears. "Isabella" is still a mystery to me.

Ipsilon Dart

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This Ipsilon Dart can't believe how busy I've been lately. Where does the time go? wonders this Ipsilon Dart.

Collared Dart and Bristly Cutworm. Maybe.

Here's a bad moth pic, taken with my phone.


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I think it might be Collared Dart, but I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.


Here's an even worse pic of a different moth.



The only thing I can find in my Peterson Field Guide to Moths that looks like it is the Bristly Cutworm moth.

Virgin Tiger Moth

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I wonder how this species propagates itself.

This is yet another moth that I scared up while mowing. It was well over an inch in length. What I could see when it fluttered up, but couldn't catch with my phone camera, is that its hindwings are red.

Nobody seems to know how it got its common name.

Spiny Oak-Slug Moth

Found a moth I'd never seen before. It was just hanging out on my garage.


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It gets its name, Spiny Oak-Slug Moth, from its larval form, which is spiny (and venomous) but does not feed exclusively on oak trees.

Primrose Moths

Here are two primrose moths (Schinia florida) on an evening primrose blossom.


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They are called primrose moths because the caterpillars feed on primrose blossoms and seeds. They are night-flying moths. During the day they like to come back to their childhood homes to rest.

Ailanthus Webworm Moth

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This festive-looking moth gets its name from the behavior of its larvae. The caterpillars build a web in the Ailanthus tree (aka Tree of Heaven) where they all live together as they feed on the leaves and branches.

More pics here.

Common Gray

What a talented designer can do with shades of gray, black, and white!


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At first I thought it was a Pale-Winged Gray, but someone on the IN Nature Facebook page who knows more than I do about moths thought otherwise.

Eight-Spotted Forester

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Found this small but showy moth in my pollinator habitat area. It refused to pose for a photo. If you want a better shot you'll have to look elsewhere.

Dark-Spotted Palthis

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Found this moth on my garage a few days ago. Those things sticking out from his face are "labial palps." He falls into the category of "litter moths" according to Peterson. Beyond his labial palps, I can't find out anything remarkable about him.

Greater Black-Letter Dart

I think what I've got here is a Greater Black-Letter Dart moth.


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Just another moth in the grass that I had to stop my lawnmower to avoid running over. They are common from mid-spring through late fall, according to the Peterson Field Guide to Moths.

Bilobed Looper Moth

Once again: while mowing I find a moth in the grass. Moth has wonderful markings. I search through my 611-page Peterson's Field Guide to Moths and identify said moth … and learn that it is a very common moth with absolutely nothing remarkable about it. Except those wonderful markings.


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Bilobed Looper Moth, also called Stephens' gem.

I couldn't get a clear photo of its wings because they were constantly vibrating.



As a bonus, here's a mysterious creature from the outside of my garage.



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5/26/2019 update — My thanks to Suzi E., who identified the mysterious creature as some kind of crane fly.

Dingy Cutworm Moth

I scared up this moth while mowing the lawn, and when it landed again I photographed it with my cell phone.


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I thought its markings were wonderful! Then I found out that it's called a Dingy Cutworm moth, and somehow its markings stopped being so wonderful. They ought to give it a better name.

Reaper Dart Moth

Found this thing on a bell pepper in my garden during the summer. It took me a long time to identify it. I finally decided it's a Reaper Dart.


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My tomato harvest was pretty poor this year, but I got a lot of bell peppers.

Some Kind of Tiger Moth

I found this snow-white moth in my back yard and photographed it, hoping to identify it later. I didn't know enough to make it turn over so I could see its abdomen, which might have helped.


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The orange-yellow forelegs make me think it might be an Agreeable Tiger moth. I have no idea how that species got its name, but this guy was quite pleasant about letting me take his picture. Larval hosts include dandelions and plantain, both of which are plentiful around here.

Or maybe it's a Virginian Tiger moth. If I could see whether its abdomen had a yellow patch, I would know.