Moth Monday: Florida Fern Moth
You may have noticed I missed Moth Monday last week because I had finally run out of moth pictures. Of course, it’s only the pictures that ran out, not the moths. There are over 10,000 species in the United States and Canada alone, which at a rate of one a week should be enough to keep going for a couple of centuries at least. Last week I was in south Louisiana where many moths are still flying in the unseasonably warm (even for south Louisiana) weather. Here’s the first one from down south, a Florida Fern Moth, shown approximately five times actual size:
Florida Fern Moth, Hodges#9630, Callopistria floridensis
Metairie, Louisiana, 2008-12-23
Thanks to Bob Patterson for the ID.
I noticed that lights down there attract a lot more insect activity than lights here in Irvine. Every evening my parents’ porch was covered with Green Lacewings, Brown Lacewings, gnats, flies, and a variety of moths; many more than I see around evening lights in Orange County. I’m not sure why: more insects down there, more pesticides here, fewer lights there, or something else.
