Birds & Blooms Extra! - USA (2020-09)

CLOCKWISE

FROM

BOTTOM

LEFT:

ERIK

AGAR;

PALEBLUE;

AMANDA

GUERCIO/

SHUTTERSTOCK (3); CHRIS TENNEY

Grapevine

epimenis on

wintercress

They are beautiful, colorful

pollinators that flit around

flowers in the sunshine. On

the other hand, moths have a

reputation as dingy, dull fliers

that lurk in the dark.

Maybe moths just need

better publicity. They have

a lot going for them, including a

tremendous amount of variety.

In the United States and

Canada, there are about 650

butterfly species. For moths,

that number is about 11,000.

Among that very diverse

multitude, some moths wear

every color of the rainbow.

And although most kinds

fly at night, several hundred

species are active mostly in

the sunlight. Wherever you

live, daytime moths are sure

to be found nearby.

BLACK-AND-WHITE

BEAUTIES

Many active day-flying moths

wear bold patterns of black

and white. One of the most

familiar is the eight-spotted

forester. Its black wings

each have two big white to

yellowish white spots (for a

total of eight), and the bases

of its legs are covered with a

puff of fuzzy orange scales,

giving a fine accent of color.

These moths are often seen

fluttering around flowering

shrubs and garden blooms

In a popularity

contest between

butterflies and

moths, butterflies

would probably

win every time.

in spring and summer. Their

larvae—also sporting black,

white and orange—feed on

Virginia creeper and wild

grape leaves. Eight-spotted

foresters are common in most

states east of the Rockies and

are replaced by several kinds

of related, similar-looking

moths in the West and parts

of Canada.

A variation on this pattern

is shown by the grapevine

epimenis, another small

spring moth. It has a white

spot on each black forewing,

but the spot on each hindwing

is red. And one of the most