Might Make A Big Post For Each Of My Moth Surveys (senior Thesis Project) With Pics Of All The Cool Moths

Might make a big post for each of my moth surveys (senior thesis project) with pics of all the cool moths I get but it would be soooo much more fun if people came into my inbox and asked me for a moth every so often. Like trick or treat but you get a random moth 👉👈

I need motivation to start identifying them otherwise I'll have to ID them all at once the day before I have to submit results bc I'll procrastinate real bad T_T

Anyway my highlight of the week is this big beautiful Modest Sphinx Pachysphinx Modesta!!

sleepy little flannel moth

something that I delight in (now that I regularly use inaturalist) is coming across flora and fauna that have no common names.

there's a thrill in discovering an overlooked or understudied organism. the world is so big and there is so much that we know so little about, even things that are in our backyard. you don't need to go somewhere exotic or to the bottom of the ocean to find creatures that are unfamiliar to the general public.

please say hello to Coccobaphes frontifer, spotted on a picnic table in Peoria, IL on 5/18/2024 :)

I am starting to understand how people get into the science of biology, because if you have a lil bug or something you like, and you start looking for more information about it, sometimes you end up with a grand total of maybe five sources before everything gets repeated. Because as it turns out there's a shit ton of invertebrates and even the relatively common ones aren't always researched in much detail. So you eventually end up with a room full of bug habitats trying to get real data on mating behavior and then you're like oh shit I'm the preeminent expert, now who do I ask.

Hello!! Equally moth obsessed freak here, you probably can't find Jordan's antennae because moths sometimes tuck them sort of under their wings and to the side of their head :)

Jordan the moth that got into my room about 5 days ago and I haven't bothered moving because she's chill and I like to talk to her

She's a Rhodometra Sacraria I believe? I think she's female?. I thought she was male for like 4 days because I swear she had pretty feathery big antennae when I first checked her, but I cant find them anymore and I don't wanna bother her.

I'm still calling her Jordan

I sincerely hope she does not understand a word of all the shit I've talked to her because dear God she must be so done with me

Looks like either a Promethea Silk or a Tulip-tree Silk moth. Either way it's female because the males of both species are darker. These species are easily confused, but try check the top side of the wings for white spots on the forewings - if they're small or nonexistent it's probably a promethea moth (probably, not guaranteed bc you have to take a number of things into account).

This article might help tell the difference:

indiananature.net

(Callosamia)

Information and range maps about the (Callosamia) in Indiana

So does anyone know what kind of moth this is? I found it dead in my garage this morning so I decided that I'd mount it. I looked up the steps to mount a bug for display purposes and right now he's in a relaxation chamber to make sure he's limber for positioning later this week.

But I'd like to know it's proper breed to label him correctly.