Hey #mothstodon can anyone ID this moth? Spotted on the ground at Falls Creek, Victoria - so in the same territory as Bogong moths but clearly not one of them. #moths
Aotearoa-NZ has some marvelous endemic moths and one of the most extravagantly elegant of them all is Macarostola miniella.
Talented young Auckland naturalist Saryu Mae (@invertebratist on #iNaturalistNZ) took some amazing photos of one this time last year.
Keep a look out for them if you live in the upper half of the North Island. The caterpillars mine in leaves of swamp maire. The adult moths are small, but spectacular.
#Mothstodon used to be a great hashtag to follow. Learned a thing or two about their shape and how almost all of them have a portion of their head ‘seem’ to resemble a human’s eye. Don’t see much post related to it these days though.
I finally got an answer to a question I've had for quite some time: what the heck are these worm-like creatures with a weird shell that I see everywhere around the house?
I got a photo of one of them, uploaded it to #iNaturalist, and got the genus #Phereoeca, a type of moth, as the suggested taxon. Reading the description of the larvae of this genus, I'm convinced that this is the right answer.
#MothOfTheDay was two of the same kind - Angle Shades, nice and easy to identify with triangle markings on their wings and tapered tail.
Still having difficulty with adding alt text to pictures so added in post. #mothstodon#moths #AltText : two photos of similar moths, the first on a close mesh and the second in grass. They both have the triangle markings on their wings, the first is generally browner and the second has more distinct blue highlights in the triangle and paler wings.
This beauty is a Luna Moth caterpillar (Actias luna) preparing to build a cocoon. These caterpillars are bright green all summer, but turn to a rusty gold when it’s almost time to pupate. Next June, when they emerge as giant silkmoths, they will be ready for the wearing o’ the green all over again. #mothstodon#nature#autumn#caterpillar
Fall in Asheville. Native moth drinking last of the nectar from hibiscus flower and orb weavers rolling out the welcome net. #moth#mothstodon#spider#spiders#flowers
So that should these lifeforms, some of which we can not even identify beyond the very basics of what modern taxonomy makes allowances for (yet), ever go extinct, we will at have least known they existed. And having known, look. And look again.
Until we find them tucked away in a hidden glade somewhere. Or perhaps in the parking lot of our own apartment complex, amongsr that unsightly cluster of 'weeds' we pass by daily.
The late summer weather brought out a host of butterflies, plus - much to my delight - this wonderful hummingbird hawk moth. I've not seen many of them this year so it was great to have the camera handy when this one came into the garden. #insects#moth#Mothstodon#photography#nature
Was startled by the size and speed of this caterpillar, which turned out to be an Elephant Hawkmoth. I forgot to add something for scale, but I'd say it was at least 8–9 cm long
The beautiful adult is pictured here in a lovely book I copy-edited years ago, Heather Greer's "On Your Doorstep: Moths and Butterflies of Connemara"