Uncover the habitat mysteries of Puss Moth Caterpillars and gain valuable knowledge about their natural dwellings.
This moth larvae gives a very painful sting from the lightest of touches - Hickatee Cottages, Punta Gorda, Toledo District, Belize If you like moths, check out my new site on tropical moths at www.moths-of-belize.com/
Scopula purata Family Geometridae, subfamily Sterrhirnae Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering 10 June 2012 Steelmantown bog CMMP block D12 Distribution map Like Horned Spanworm, Chalky Wave is a geometer, readily discerned as such by its spread-wing posture at rest. Though it may not appear so in this picture due to the strong focus on the moth, when I found it, I initially passed it off as a bird dropping. Fortunately, I looked closer! Even a quick glance at the distribution map will provide the information that the species seems to have a strong coastal-plain affinity. Whether this apparent affinity is real or just an artifact of poor sampling -- and the few number of locations might well indicate that -- is unknown. However, given the few records, even on the heavily human-populated East Coast, I suspect that the species is probably tied to some rarish host-plant species. Given that we apparently do not know what that host plant is and that none of the usual picture sources (Bug Guide, BAMONA, and MPG) have a photograph of the caterpillar, I think that my hunch may be correct. Another feature of this picture is that, upon finding the beast, I rummaged through Beadle and Leckie and found a depiction that looked very similar. Yet, when I posted this picture on my Flickr site, another Flickr member suggested that it was not, in fact, Large Lace-border, the species in the field guide that I had picked as the ID of this moth. I found that, going through MPG, that person was correct and it was confirmed as correct on Bug Guide. So, yet another lesson learned. Again. (Is that really "learned," then?) Just because something in the moth field guide looks quite close, check all of the resources available, because the field guide(s) cannot possibly cover all of the possibilities and all of the variations within those possibilities when dealing with moths.
Ceranchia apollina is a species of moth
Over 1,000 species of nocturnal moths come into the light, in the new book, “Mariposas Nocturnas.”
from Ecuador: www.youtube.com/AndreasKay
Did you also know that moths come in different shapes, colors, and sizes? If you are interested in the life of moths, knowing the types of moths is a good place to start.
Explore p.sparrow's 113 photos on Flickr!