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Explicit Arches Moth

Scientific Name: Lacinipolia explicata

Family: Noctuidae

Native Range: Southeastern United States, Pennsylvania rarely*

Size: 28–30 mm (1.10 – 1.18 in)*

Active: April and September*

Color and Appearance:

Larva eat clover and dandelion.*

*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacinipolia_explicata)

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Smoky Tentanolita Moth

Scientific Name: Tetanolita mynesalis

Family: Erebidae

Native Range: Eastern North America, Pennsylvania*

Size: Wingspan: 20–25 mm (0.79 – 1.0 in)*

Active: May – November*

Color and Appearance:

*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetanolita_mynesalis)

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Garden Webworm Moth

Scientific Name: Achyra rantalis

Family: Crambidae 

Native Range: Canada, United States, and Mexico; Pennsylvania*

Size: Wingspan:  17–23 mm (0.67–0.91 in)*

Active: Spring – Fall*

Color and Appearance: “Yellowish, pale green or dark greenish body and a yellowish-brown head and reach a length of about 24 mm.”*

*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achyra_rantalis)

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Bent Winged Owlet Moth

Scientific Name: Bleptina caradrinalis

Family: Erebidae

Native Range: North, Central and northern South America, Pennsylvania*

Size: Wingspan: 22–32 millimetres (0.87–1.26 in)*

Active: June to August*

Color and Appearance: Drab browns and gray.

August 14, 2020: Wikipedia notes that “larva feed on barberry, clover, and hickory.”* Since we have lots of clover in our lawn they seem to be a common moth when I am cutting the grass. I photographed this one when it jumped out of the way of the lawn mower.

*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleptina_caradrinalis)

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Variegated Fritillary Butterfly

Scientific Name: Euptoieta claudia

Family: Nymphalidae

Native Range: North and South America, Pennsylvania

Size: Wingspan: 44 – 57 mm (1.75–2.25 in)

Active: Summer – early fall

Color and Appearance:

Larval Host Plant: Passionflower

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Eastern-Tailed Blue Butterfly

Scientific Name: Cupido comyntas

Family: Lycaenidae

Native Range: United States and southern Canada, Pennsylvania*

Size: Wingspan: 23-28 mm (0.91 – 1.14 in)*

Active: Spring – fall. Two or more generations per year. Larva overwinters.*

Color and Appearance: “Adult: male’s wings above iridescent pale blue with brownish-gray along outer margin; forewings with a short oblique black bar near middle; hindwings with a row of submarginal black spots and a small orange spot at the base of each projecting tail. Female’s wings larger with longer tails, gray above on body and wings, 2 or 3 small orange spots with black dots near margin of hindwings. Wings of both sexes below silvery gray with small dark spots and a few orange spots near margin of hindwings.” *

*From BugGuide.net (https://bugguide.net/node/view/464)

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Cutworms and Dart Moths

Family: Noctuidae

Native Range: Worldwide, several varieties in Pennsylvania

Size:

Active: Adults and larva both overwinter in soil or leaf litter.

Color and Appearance: Grays and browns

Cutworms gain their name from the feeding habits of the caterpillars. The caterpillars come out at night and bite through the stem of young plants, cutting them down and eating some of what falls. Some species are considered to be major agricultural pests. The adults pupate into moths which become pollinators.

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Veneer, Changeable Grass

Scientific Name: Fissicrambus mutabilis

Family: Crambidae

Native Range: Eastern and Central United States, Pennsylvania.

Size: Wingspan: 17 mm (0.67 in)*

Active: April – September, with two generations per year and overwintering as partially grown larva.*

Color and Appearance: “Adult: forewing yellowish-brown with diffuse grayish-white streak running lengthwise in upper half of wing (i.e. nearest the costa); subterminal line black, evenly toothed; PM line jagged, irregularly toothed, sometimes continuous but often broken and represented by just two or three black spots; hindwing variably pale to dark brownish-gray.” BugNet.com (https://bugguide.net/node/view/70225)

Larva know as Striped Sod Webworm. Adults are primarily nocturnal, hiding in the grass by day.*

*From BugNet.com (https://bugguide.net/node/view/70225)

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Speckled Green Fruitworm Moth

Scientific Name: Orthosia hibisci

Family: Noctuidae

Native Range: North America, Pennsylvania

Size: Adult wingspan: 30–38 mm*

Active: One generation per year with adults active in spring*

Color and Appearance:

*From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthosia_hibisci

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Spicebush Swallowtail

Scientific Name: Papilio troilus

Family: Papilionidae

Native Range: Eastern United States, Pennsylvania

Size:

Active:

Color and Appearance: Black with blue on hindwings