Field Guide

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.

The lucerne moth is one of many types of moths in the crambid family. Its caterpillars eat plants in the grass, celery, clover/alfalfa, and smartweed families.

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 lettered sphinx is the earliest of our sphinx moths to emerge in springtime and may be seen starting in March and April. This single-brooded resident uses wild grapes, Virginia creeper, and peppervine as its caterpillar food plants.

Hagen's sphinx is also called Osage orange sphinx for its larval food plant. Fresh adults will have a beautiful olive-green cast, while older individuals will look more tan.

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 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.

The three-lined flower moth is a common noctuid moth. Its caterpillars eat flowers and flower buds of false bonesets, Joe-Pye weeds, thoroughworts, and blazing stars.