All the way from Texas, Patti Nelson asks, “What’s this animal?”
Well Patti, it looks like you’ve got an early flyer there! That’s the Spotted Apatelodes, Apatelodes torrefacta, a beautiful moth of the Bombycidae (Silkworm Moths) family which is commonly mistaken for the somewhat similar looking Sphinx Moth. I say early flyer because they are most commonly in flight between May and August. These fellas go through 3 generations per year, 2 in the south and 1 in the north.
Any more questions? Feel free to ask!
Very cool. Is it an indication of an earlier or warmer summer since it’s being seen earlier than usual?