Field Guide

The salt marsh moth, a type of tiger moth, is strikingly white with small black spots. Males have yellow-orange hindwings. The caterpillars are fast-moving woolly bears ranging from yellowish to brown to blackish.

Sod webworms are very common small moths that develop as caterpillars among the roots and leaves of grasses. They are attracted to lights at night.

The enormous, horned caterpillars of regal moths are more famous than the winged adults. This splendid moth is well established in the Ozarks and eastern Missouri.

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 bent-line carpet and several similar geometrid moths are called carpet moths for their intricate wing patterns, reminiscent of the traditional carpets of Asia and the Middle East.

The juniper-twig geometer is one of many geometrid moths that look like a dried-up leaf. Look for them around porch lights April through November. Larvae eat junipers, including eastern red cedar.

The bilobed looper moth has a conspicuous B-shaped silvery spot on each forewing. Caterpillars of this noctuid moth eat a wide range of plants, and this species is widespread.

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.

At first glance, skippers look halfway between butterflies and moths. They are commonly seen darting among the flowers they visit on hot summer days.

Learn about butterflies and skippers as a group. What makes a butterfly a butterfly? How are they different from moths? What are the major groups of butterflies?