MOTHS 101

Throughout the warmer weather, moths congregate outside my kitchen door, attracted by the porch light. (It stays on all night for my geese, who don't see very well in the dark and become frightened without it). Being an early riser, I am fortunate to be able to photograph many of these moths while they rest after a long night of fluttering around the bulb.  Most mornings I am dazzled by at least one or two of these beautiful and very diversified little creatures that are either new to me or merely stand out from the more commonplace
ones. Over time,  I have compiled quite a library of pictures of them. And today, I would like to share SOME of them with you. This WILL be my most lengthy post yet, so you just might want to grab a cuppa and settle down when you have the time to really enjoy these amazing fellows.

It has been my personal observation that moths fall into various categories.  There are those that resemble tiny aircraft so closely that I have to wonder if NASA has also been checking them out and incorporating them into their own designs.

See what I mean?  Doesn't that last one look like something out of Star Wars?  And then there are those moths that look plain and rather uninteresting with their wings closed.......

....only to open up to reveal some very lovely color and texture combos underneath! Yes it IS the same moth!

This next guy shows just a hint of what he might be hiding under his outer wings, but he became annoyed with me trying to get him to spread them open for me and took off. Darn!

Some moths are masters of deception which serves them very well.  If you look unappetizing, no one is going to bother with you.  Hence, if you resemble bird poop, its a pretty good bet that predators will pass you up for something much more palatable looking.

There are moths that resemble dead leaves as THEIR camouflage.

Now I ask you, who would want to eat dead leaves for lunch?  Works for me!  When a predator thinks that its prey is looking at him, it doesn't pay to expend the energy to try to make a meal of it, so many times it will be passed by in place of some other tasty morsel he can catch off guard.  So here's looking at you!

This one has not only eyes but a full face.Can you make it out? (HINT: the eyes are about half way down

the wings).

And I've got to wonder how many predators would even attempt to tackle THIS fellow with his prehistoric looking armor plated feet?  Looks like a tough guy to me!

I've saved some of the most beautiful ones for last.  They need no introduction.  So just enjoy!

This one reminds me of mother of pearl.  Can you make out all the pinks and lavenders?

Well, I do hope you have enjoyed seeing some of my moth pictures.  Just about every day I get some more, so we will have to do this again some other time.