I spent quite a bit of time patiently following this week’s moths, trying to get decent photos. They were new to me and seemed impressive but both, I was sad to learn, are not universally liked (by humans). The one above was quite large, and kept its wings fluttering most of the time, even when it was eating. I looked it up when I got home and discovered it’s a type of looper moth, so-called because the caterpillars move in a looping motion.
This is the same moth (note the tear on the left wing), taken with a different camera, so it looks darker, and closer to its actual color. The white wing marks that sometimes give the illusion of being three-dimensional are common to loopers and they’re called “stigma.” I wish I’d gotten a good shot of this moth’s profile, because they have distinctively jagged, one might say loopy, crests and turrets. Valerie’s Austin Bug Collection has some good side-views and info. Many loopers damage crops, like cabbage or soybean, and they’re named for that behavior. This may be an alfalfa looper.
This plume moth kept flying a few feet away and landing again on stalks of grass. In profile, it was seahorse-like, with an upward-curved abdomen. I think plume moths are cool, the way they fold the wings to look like twigs. This one, I think, is an artichoke plume moth. The caterpillars do substantial damage to California artichoke crops, but they also eat thistles, which is probably the food source in the park where I saw this one. This Project Noah page says each species of plume moth holds its legs and abdomen differently at rest, and the description of the Artichoke Plume fits this moth.
Cheers!
Ticklehead 