Red letter day...

So, even when it looks far from perfect it is always worth firing-up the moth trap. Only one moth...but a great one - a fine Lettered Sphinx! First one I've seen for a few years. Along with Abbot's Sphinx it is generally the first Sphingid to be on the wing in the springtime. Sphinx moths are not exactly thick in the air in my back yard so it was particularly pleasing to catch a species that I needed better photos of.


A nice view of Deidamia inscripta, or Lettered Sphinx. It is a very small Sphingid, barely larger than, say, an Armyworm Moth, though chunkier. It has a typical Sphingid shape though and has an obviously scalloped outer margin to the forewing. This moth is beautifully marked and is very cryptic when posed on bark.


Another view showing how the tip of the abdomen is slightly raised when at rest - indeed it is sometimes raised even higher. The larvae feed on Ampelopsis, grapes and Virginia Creeper and the adults are on the wing from late April to early June. A fine addition to the old yard list. What will be next?