Pale Metanema

2016 February 24

If this moth from the porch light on June 13, 2015 isn’t a Pale Metanema, Metanema inatomaria, it is certainly a dead ringer for it. I only got pictures of it in one pose and from one angle because it was in an awkward position for looking at it from another direction, but I think this picture is good enough to be worth leaving it full-sized (you can click on this to see it larger).

The caterpillars are grey-and-white stick-mimic inchworms that eat leaves from a variety of trees, including aspen, poplar, and willow. They overwinter as pupae, building their cocoons in tree-bark crevices. While the adult stands out pretty clearly on our house siding, I expect that it would be a lot harder to spot perched on the trunk of an aspen tree, which is pretty much the same shade of gray as the moth is.

One Response
  1. February 28, 2016

    What a gorgeous soft gray!

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