The Brother
Continuing the long series of moths that were attracted to our porch light, here’s a gray, mottled one from July 4, 2011. Based on the spots that I circled on the wings, this appears to be one of the very large family of owlet moths.
It most closely resembles The Brother, Raphia frater. And, as with so many moths, it has a somewhat whimsical common name that nobody is quite sure why it received. There doesn’t seem to be anything obviously “brotherly” about them, and the discoverer is no longer available to ask about it.
The caterpillars are green with yellow spots and three yellow stripes across the back, and eat the leaves of aspens and related trees. They overwinter as pupae, which is why this adult was flying around by July 4.
And here’s a second one, caught just about a year later on June 30, 2012. I kind of suspect that they are common enough that I will get one pretty much every year if I put a light out in the last week of June/first week of July.
I got a face shot this time. It looks like they have striped legs.
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Based on the second photo, it should be called the Wookie Moth.