Tuesday, March 12, 2013

One weird insect



Earlier this week, I happened to spot this strange creature on the brick wall on the front of our house. It really threw me for a loop. I'd never seen anything like it before! So I posted this photo on Bugguide.net. Dumb me–I asked if it was a deformed moth larvae. LARVAE, Sheryl!? That would be a caterpillar, and our mystery insect is definitely not THAT

Boy, did I feel embarrassed. 

However, the experts on Bugguide.net were quite polite. "This insect has wings," someone pointed out. Duh, Sheryl.

At any rate, they've determined that my odd insect is a half-wing moth (Phigalia titea). Apparently, the females are flightless. Here's a photo of one that resembles mine. Interesting, eh?
 

1 comment:

sandy lawrence said...

What an interesting insect. She looks like a Victorian Lady moth wearing a little half cape. :-)

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