Figure-eight Sallow

Psaphida resumens

April 15, 2004

Here's a moth who tells you its name.  Note how the reniform and orbicular spots join to form a figure eight.  They are a familiar siting in Connecticut, among the early owlets appearing in the spring and late winter.

Our Sallows, by the way, get their common name from the English moths known as Sallows, whose caterpillars feed on willow.  Sallow is a derivation of the Latin salix, meaning willow.  The Figure-eight larvae eat oak and maple leaves.