The critter looked just like a dead leaf with its antennae curled back to look like a petiole, the stem part on a leaf that attaches to the tree. Its legs were also jagged and thickened in places to resemble a dried up leaf. Perfect camouflage! Below is a crop of John's picture that shows the legs up close.
I was really curious about this critter conundrum. What was this bizarre bug? I looked in some of my books. No luck! Then I looked through some pics on my favorite website BugGuide. Nope, I couldn't find it. There are so many moths out there, it can make one's head spin.
So finally I e-mailed Eric Eaton, otherwise known as Bug Eric. He is called Bug Eric because he is extremely knowledgeable about bugs and is the principal author for the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects. Wonderful book! I tend to "bug" Eric with all the unknown insects I find. And in return, he kindly obliges an answer and gently corrects my ID boo-boos.
When I told John Howard I was doing this post, he sent me a picture he had taken of Trumpet Creeper. How gorgeous! If you have this plant nearby, take a peek and see if you can find the caterpillars of this crazy moth!
HOW VERY cool! have never seen this interesting critter.
ReplyDeleteYou sure do have some good bug resources..
Nice to know that if i need and ID..I can come to you first..and If you dont know I am sure you would know who to send me to.
I use that Bug Guide as well.
You know you need to Join Twitter..you are doing facebook, nature blog,
Twitter is a great way to spread the word of your blog to a huge audience.
I do tweet out posts every now and then of yours..
If u join let me know.
will help get u some followers.
That is a crazy moth! It looks like someone took pinking shears to his wings!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I were just admiring a Trumpet vine in Denver - no critters like your Creeper Moth though! I'll keep looking - I'd love to spot one.
ReplyDeleteThats amazing. I doubt if I would have spotted it as a moth if it was still.
ReplyDelete..Harold
Great post! very interesting! I liked the comaflauge frog post, as well.
ReplyDeleteNow there's a moth I wish I'd come across. All the hard work is done now that you've identified it :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen a Trumpet creeper around here but I'm supposed to be in it's range. After looking at the photos I certainly want some.
How did you even spot this moth? Very cool!
ReplyDelete