Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Himmelman's Plume moth

Sorry that I didn't get a better photo but I wasn't exactly sure what it was when I took the pic. Turns out it's one of the species of plume moths. (I didn't even know we had any around here.)  You'll know a plume moth because of the "T" shape made by their body and thin wings when they are at rest. The wings have feathery hairs on the trailing edge (plumes) which is how they get their common name. It's a nocturnal moth so I wondered how I happened to see this one until I read that they eat foliage of blackberry, raspberry, and dogwood. With as many of those plants as I have surrounding me, there are probably lots of these little guys around and this one just got disturbed into flying during the day.  I'll be watching for the opportunity to get a clearer shot.

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