Nature News | Marlene A. Condon October 2, 2021
- Nature News | Marlene A. Condon
- 5 hrs ago
- 0
One fall afternoon, as I was sitting on my front-porch swing, a large white-and-black insect went zipping by. I knew that it was either a moth or a butterfly, but it flew so fast that I couldn’t get a good look at it before it disappeared.
Since I’d seen this insect in the early afternoon, I made sure to be outside again the next afternoon in case it came by. I’d learned long before that animals are often creatures of habit, so if you see one at a certain time of the day or night, you are quite likely to see it again about that same time on the next day or night.
Sure enough, one of these insects came zooming by, flying around in every direction as if it were on its way to a fire but did not know the most direct route to get there! This time I was ready.
While many people interested in moths and butterflies use nets to catch and then observe them, I prefer to leave animals alone, so I was not waiting with a net. Instead, I was waiting with sneakers on my feet in place of sandals so that I could more easily follow (running, if necessary) after the insect as it flew rapidly around the yard.
And fly it did, never stopping at a flower for nectar as some moths and butterflies might do. However, it did land on a leaf, just long enough for me to get the glimpse I needed for identification purposes. It was a moth.
I could see its wings were folded on top of its back; butterflies often close their wings high above their backs but they can’t fold them. This insect had a furry body whereas butterflies do not, and it didn’t have knobby antennae the way all butterflies do.
The moth was mostly black with a white band through the center of each of its four wings that included a black spot. I immediately looked through my field guide to moths (Eastern Moths by Charles V. Covell, Jr.) and found what I was looking for — a Buck Moth. These insects are searching for mates.
The caterpillar of the Buck Moth eats oak leaves, so if you have oak trees around, you may catch a glimpse of this insect any time between now and the middle of November, assuming the weather is not too cold. There are few day-flying moths, especially at this time of the year, and this one is distinctive due to its rapid flight.
I’ve seen Buck Moths flying early in the morning as well as late in the afternoon. Search early in the morning while it’s cool and you may find one at rest, but not necessarily on a plant. Many years ago, I got several photos of one on my trash can in the carport and was able to see that its black body is punctuated with bright orange markings. The colors are certainly appropriate for the Halloween season!