Silver-spotted Ghost Moth

Sthenopis argenteomaculatus

June 22, 2003

I remember the first time I saw this moth in the wee AM hours of June 13, 1996.  I stared at it hanging from its tarsae and wasn't sure what family I was looking at.  It was sort of sphinxish, kind'a silk mothy, maybe even cossidaerly.  But there was one thing that I did somehow know.  I was looking at something very old.

 It had a primordial feel to it.

And as it turned out, I had sensed right.  

The Hepialidae (Ghost Moths - "Swifts" over the Pond)  are a primitive family of moths, meaning their line can be traced back to an early time in moth evolution.  The males are known to fly in gyrating swarms, at dusk, to attract females.  This must be some sight!  Since the moth on the right is only the third one I've seen in seven years,  witnessing such an phenomenon in my yard is not something I'm counting on.

"Ghost Moth" is based on Europe's Hepialus humuli , which, in the case of the males, 

are ghostly white.

Like ghosts, the adults have no need for sustenance.