Smoked Sallows
There were actually a couple of these good-sized brown moths on our siding near the porch light on August 1, 2010. The first one was positioned where I could get a dorsal shot,
while the second one was visible from the side.
I thought at first that these were some kind of tiger moths, but the key ID feature against this was the spots on the wings: the top ones were circular, while the bottom ones were “reniform”, or kidney-shaped. And, the reniform spots had darker portions in the part that was towards the back and closer to the midline of the body.
They look like Smoked Sallows, Enargia infumata. These are known to be present in this area, although these seem to be a paler color than a lot of the ones from other parts of the country.
The Smoked Sallow is yet another moth with caterpillars that feed on aspen, and probably came from the aspen stand off to the northwest of our house.
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