Pale Green Moth with Green/White Stripe – Pale Beauty
On June 15, 2015, there were several moths that came to the porch light that were various shades of green. These two look like they are both the same species:
They have a rusty brown spot on the forehead, just in front of the antennae, but this turns out not to be a very useful ID feature because hardly anybody posts pictures of moth face-shots.
So, after going through the various greenish moths, I think these are Pale Beauties, Campaea perlata. And saying that name, I think, “that sounds familiar, I wonder if I already did this species?”. And as it turns out, I sort of did: here’s the caterpillar, that I photographed back in 2011.
The caterpillars are really unusual among inchworms in that they have that fringe of fleshy tendrils all around the belly. Tendrils like these are more commonly found in underwing moth caterpillars, they help break up the outline of the caterpillar so that they can blend in with the bark or stick that they are sitting on. Pale Beauty caterpillars are generalist feeders, and apparently are likely to be found eating just about any tree where their camouflage lets them blend in with the branches.
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So soft! It looks like a brush that a woman* uses to apply blush.
* – Or anyone that identifies as a woman** at that moment.
** – I’m sorry. This comment is patriarchally normative, assuming that men shouldn’t apply blush. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll check myself in to the local re-education camp.