Aster World, Part 14: More Moths

This moth's common name is "Dingy Cutworm Moth," so named for the non-descript larva.  But the adult is boldly patterned, clearly not "dingy."  

Feltia jaculifera is a gorgeous, brightly patterned moth

This male (note the furry antennae) is feeding on Hairy Asters,

October 15, 2021.  

In fact, an entomologist with bugguide.net says a better common name would be 
"Bright-striped Dart."  I agree!

Here is the Chickweed Geometer, a moth whose larvae eat wetland plants, such as chickweed and smartweed.  

Haematopis grataria, Chickweed Geometer,
on Hairy Asters, October 2021

This one is a male as can be told by the lush bristles on his antennae!  

He is part of the family of Geometrid Moths (Geometridae), or "Earth Measurers," so named for their larvae's method of locomotion.   The larvae advance by gathering themselves up into a loop and then extending forward, earning the common name of "inch worm."  Each "step" is supposedly one inch.   

Here is a grass moth--long and thin to blend in with the blade of a grass.  This one is yet another member of the Crambid Snout Moth family--so named for the extended mouth parts that look like a "snout."  (S)he doesn't seem interested in sharing asters with a neighboring fly.   Note that two-toned proboscis!

Lucerne Moth (Nomophila nearctica), a Crambid Snout Moth, 

enjoys aster nectar.  October 2021

Now for a member of yet another family, the Plutellidae, or Diamond-back Moths.  Check out that tail fin!  

Plutella xylostella, a Diamond-back Moth,
nectaring on Hairy Asters, October 2022.

Here (s)he is in action:

Flies come and go while this Diamond-back Moth

nectars on Hairy Asters.   But one fly--probably caught

by a spider--remains motionless.