#micromoths

[pogomcl]

Fairy Longhorn Moth, Nemophora Nemophora prodigella, N prodigellus Canon 7D EFS 60 2.8 f/7.1 1/320 iso: 125 Srbsko, Czech Republic 6/24/2019

[herpsandbirds]

Yellow-vested Moth (Rectiostoma xanthobasis), family Depressariidae, Kerr County, Texas, USA

This is a "micro-moth", having a wingspan of only 14 mm.

photograph by Graham Floyd

[lycomorpha]

A tad late, but here's a motivational micro-moth for today. May we all be appreciated as much as I appreciate this moth's beautiful tuftiness. Which is a lot. 💖🦋

Image is by Patrick Clement on Flickr

[chaoticbuggybitchboy]

EVERYONE HUSH AND GO READ THIS RIGHT NOW

[thethingything]

oh also I think the smaller caterpillar made a little bit of silk? like as it finally went in the jar and I went to move my finger it kind of pulled the caterpillar a bit even though I wasn't touching it, and it felt like when you get a bit of spiderweb on your finger, but I couldn't actually see the threads, so idk what was going on there but fair enough little buddy

[bulimulus-bonariensis]

Lepidopterans will do that to you

Apparently the local university’s undergraduate entomology course sends students to catch insect specimens at the same place I like to go birdwatching, which explains why I saw three enormous frat looking dudes with tiny bug nets and overheard one emphatically say “bro BRO I told you we already have enough lepidopterans”

[crevicedwelling]

Anacampsis levipedella has the common name “Silver-dashed Anacampsis” but its specific name translates to “light-footed,” which is fitting given its habit of dancing!

this species is part of the twirler moth family (Gelechiidae), its name alluding to a similar behavior of many micromoths to dance on leaf surfaces like this. the reason for the dances isn’t yet fully known, but they do it a lot; every time I scared this moth off it would do a series of twirls before settling back down.

this pair was preoccupied with mating and less able to twirl, and sat still for photos.

[dinictis]

Recent micromoth pin (doublemount). Not the best- note the faded markings, I did rub off some scales spreading the wings, but I was still pretty proud of the result overall compared to some past specimens haha.

At first I thought it was a cosmopterigid, but it's probably Chrysoclista linneella - wingspan is about 12-13mm, with 3 spots on each forewing that form a triangle.

[chaoticbuggybitchboy]

YIPPEE!!!

school is over, killjoys musical time yay yay yay yay

[the-chattering-tower]

Not active currently, but seeing the new (lovely) apparel on my dash reminded me of the old moth shawl skins I had (micromoth shawl and catocala cape) and I can't decide if the new release has made them just painfully obsolete or if they can make a kinda cute under-layer for it

[pogomcl]

Fairy Long-horn, Nemophora sp Canon 7D EFS 60 2.8 f/7.1 1/320 iso:125 Srbsko, Czech Republic 6/24/2019 3000srb7A19_06_24.jpg

[celestial-games]

Will you be adding any sphinx/hawk moths? And what about orb weavers?

Definitely will have sphinx moths and orb weavers :] For moths I will try to make sure each of major families is adequately represented, though macromoths may have more representation than micromoths. Simply because a lot of the tiny thin micros will be hard to adequately pixelate I think.

[lycomorpha]

It's been too rainy to put the moth trap on for a few, so here's some moth friends from previous Mays

- Cinnabar moth

- Fluffypants aka male muslin moth

- Treble lines and brimstone

- Yellow barred brindle

- Heart & dart

- Light brown apple moths, female then male

- Treble lines again

- Setaceous Hebrew character

- Oak hook-tip

All these moths eat trees and shrubs and weeds. Their caterpillars are feeding baby birds this time of year. To help moths, and birds by proxy, if you have a garden: pls keep some weeds. Don't go wild on the tidying and pruning. Tell your friends that you're helping your local insects and indeed ecosystem. Persuade them to stop weeding and instead look out for insects and birbs. They're way more fun.

Thank you from the Moth Promotional Board 🦋🐾✨

[cassowariess]

Did you see about the new moth species that was discovered in London?

yes!! It reminds me of the Manchester Moth pictured below:

there are only three specimens in existence and it's considered extinct. It's crazy how much the micromoths go so unnoticed that there could be lots more undiscovered species in the UK.

[chaoticbuggybitchboy]

Everyone stop and go read this thanks

[thethingything]

so that new tiny caterpillar had clearly been wandering around for a while because I just found some random strands of silk around where I found it, but also I had to just put it in the jar we'd been using for the other micromoth caterpillar which I hadn't cleaned out yet because y'know, I wasn't expecting another tiny caterpillar, and now I'm losing my shit because it's pretty much immediately moved into the old cocoon that's still in there. I watched it wander around a bit before crawling in there and settling in