Autumnal Moth

Epirrita autumnata

November 1, 2005

After a loooong stretch of rain followed 

by a about a week of unseasonably cold weather, it feels like spring again!  The birds are singing, peepers peeping..., all very vernal equinoxy if not for the arrival of the Autumnal Moths.  This is a new species for my yard, but it's really not.  I've seen them before but never got around to identifying them.

When I stirred a few off the light sheet, they flew high - about 20 feet - to the woodland edge where they planted themselves - flat - beneath the leaves.