Quaking Quakers...

The small run of back yard moths continues with this smart-looking Speckled Green Fruitworm Moth. This is a regular moth in the back yard in early spring - indeed it is usually the first moth I catch. It is part of a small group of moths in the genus Orthosia, usually known as Quakers.




This species is generally rather drab with some reddish shading in the median part of the forewing. Notice the black blob within the reniform spot and the heavy reddish shading along the st. line. This species can be separated from the otherwise similar Ruby Quaker by antenna form - serrate in this species and bipectinate in Ruby.

Few birds this morning. A singing Chipping Sparrow was nice. Better was a distant singing Eastern Towhee - bit of a rarity in these parts.