Field Guide

Tent caterpillar moths and lappet moths are medium-sized, with thick, long scales that make them look furry. The abdomen usually extends past the wings when they are folded back over the body.

At rest, tortricid moths often have a distinctive shape, resembling an arrowhead or a bell, with the forewing tips either squared-off or flared outward.

Ailanthus webworm moths visit flowers in the daytime but also come to lights at night. Larvae live communally in silken webs in tree-of-heaven, an invasive tree from Asia.

Leaf skeletonizer moths are also called smoky moths because they have translucent smoky-brown, brownish gray, or black wings. Many species also have patches or orange or rusty color. Larvae eat all but the veins of leaves, leaving a skeleton of veins behind.

The ornate bella moth, also called the calico moth and rattlebox moth, is one of Missouri’s most attractive moths. The colors, however, are a warning to predators that this moth is toxic if eaten. Even spiders reject them.

The grapevine epimenis flies during daytime and would seem too colorful to be a moth, but a moth it is. They fly in springtime and love to visit wild plum blossoms.

Learn about moths as a group. What makes a moth a moth? How are moths different from butterflies? What are the major groups of moths?

The gray comma is easy to ID if you can see the underside: it is charcoal gray with many fine dark streaks, and its comma marking is L-shaped and narrows to a fine point at each end.