White Triangle Tortrix

2015 November 21

This little orange moth with a white triangle on its wings was on the outside of one of our windows on June 12, 2015.

Since it was on the window, I was able to get a shot of its underside without disturbing it.

It has the typical “round-shouldered” appearance of a tortricid moth.

Since orange is a slightly unusual color, I did a Google site-search on BugGuide for “orange tortricid”, and just scanned through the pictures until I spotted a match.

It looks like the White Triangle Tortrix, Clepsis persicana, an inoffensive little moth whose larvae feed on a really diverse set of trees, ranging from alders and peaches to conifers like fir, spruce, and hemlock. While some of its relatives are known as pest species, this moth doesn’t seem to be of much concern. The larva is known as a “green needleworm” when it infests conifers, and is supposed to be quite active for a larva.

3 Responses
  1. November 22, 2015

    I was going to say it was an attractive moth, but those eyes are really throwing me off.

  2. November 24, 2015

    You mean you don’t like the way it stares at you with its dead eyes, like Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman on the cover of Entertainment Weekly?

  3. November 25, 2015

    Thanks, Tim, for linking to my blog!

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