I'm back home! I want to kiss my internet router. I missed it so much!
So I was pretty bummed that last week was National Moth Week and I was missing out. My MOSI friends did a moth watching thing over at one of the libraries. But I was determined to see moths in WV and report them! Fortunately, the cemetery where Grandpa is buried turned out to be a hotspot of activity. Well, I visited the big cemetery, and then there's a smaller one up the path about ten minutes away. Lots of opportunities for spotting stuff.
I think BAMONA is under extra pressure during National Moth Week because they got back to me really quick.
This is a Canadian melanolophia (Melanolophia canadaria).
They identified the genus, but not species of this one. Caenurgina sp.
I thought I might be having some kind of religious experience, but it turns out this is a real moth. Dad and I were both pretty freaked out, though. This is a Clymene Moth (Haploa clymene).
Now, I had been trying to get some pictures of milkweed, but we kept driving by it and it's just not safe to stop on those mountain roads. Finally, I found a patch along the fence line of the cemetery!
Ladybugs, aphids, and a milkweed bug? Yup, I found the right plant.
I went to wave a bug away from my face and the movement scared up my real quarry - a Monarch butterfly!
I don't see them in WV very often. Dad says he can't remember seeing them as a kid. I think it must be hard to fly around mountains.
Then, a smaller butterfly came and tried to chase the Monarch away. I looked at it real close because I thought it was special. It may look like a Silver-Spotted Skipper, but it's not. That's its lookalike cousin, the Hoary Edge! I think I've only seen one before in my life so I was pretty excited.
