September 2nd Caterpillars and Moths

Last Wednesday night I did both a caterpillar safari and a moth sheet. It was hot, muggy, and dark so I think there was more insect activity prior evenings. Unfortunately, that was true for mosquitos too but I sprayed heavily.

I found 7 species of moth caterpillars and that included a few surprises. The initial surprise was finding a second Brown-hooded Owlet Moth caterpillar, this time of Canada Goldenrod! I found one a couple days earlier in a different location on Zig-zag Goldenrod. The second surprise was finding what seems to be an Eclipsed Oak Dagger moth (Acronicta increta) caterpillar, a first here. Finally, there were about half a dozen early instar Hummingbird Clearwing moth caterpillars on Arrowwood Viburnum. This was at least the second generation of the season on this plant.

In terms of adult moths, I observed 15 species on the sheet or in the yard. New visitors include: Soybean Looper Moth, Filbertworm Moth, Implicit Arches, and Eastern Panthea Moth. By far the largest moth was the Bride Underwing moth, which seemed 2+ inches. I really liked the greens of the Implicit Arches moth and the mosaic punk style of the Soybean Looper moth.

See all our invertebrate observations at our Catchfly Commons project page on iNaturalist.