Field Guide

Sphinx moths are usually large and heavy bodied, with a long, pointed abdomen. Members of this family often hover near flowers, feeding on nectar and looking like hummingbirds or bumblebees.

The rosy maple moth has a variable coloration. In most cases, it is white or cream-colored, with some amount of pink at the outer and inner portions of the wings.

The Nessus sphinx is a common Missouri moth. It hovers near flowers, collecting nectar, during the day and at dusk. The caterpillars eat plants in the grape family, including Virginia creeper.

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.

The spiny oak-slug moth is named for its caterpillar, which is armed with gaudy, stiff, stinging spines. If you touch them, the sting can feel something like a bee sting.

Adult slug caterpillar moths are heavy-bodied and furry. The weird-looking caterpillars have suckers instead of prolegs, so they glide around like slugs. Don’t touch — many have stinging spines or hairs.

Fall webworm moths may be either completely white or have varying amounts of dark spots. The larvae are hairy caterpillars that live communally in late summer and fall in tentlike webs on the branch tips of trees.

Litter moths are a subfamily of rather nondescript brownish moths, often with intricate patterns that camouflage them as they rest on tree bark or among leaves on the forest floor.

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.