Butterflies and Moths
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Scientific Name
Hemaris diffinis
Description
The snowberry clearwing is a moth that confuses people because it looks like a bumblebee and flies like a hummingbird!
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Scientific Name
Harrisina americana
Description
Grapeleaf skeletonizer moths have all-black wings that they typically hold flat, away from the body. There is an unbroken collar of red or orange behind the black head.
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About 35 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Tent caterpillar moths and lappet moths are medium-sized, with thick, long scales that make them look furry. The abdomen usually extends past the wings when they are folded back over the body.
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Scientific Name
About 1,400 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
At rest, tortricid moths often have a distinctive shape, resembling an arrowhead or a bell, with the forewing tips either squared-off or flared outward.
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Scientific Name
Euclea delphinii
Description
The spiny oak-slug moth is named for its caterpillar, which is armed with gaudy, stiff, stinging spines. If you touch them, the sting can feel something like a bee sting.
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Nomophila nearctica
Description
The lucerne moth is one of many types of moths in the crambid family. Its caterpillars eat plants in the grass, celery, clover/alfalfa, and smartweed families.
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Pediasia trisecta
Description
Sod webworms are very common small moths that develop as caterpillars among the roots and leaves of grasses. They are attracted to lights at night.
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Subfamily Herminiinae
Description
Litter moths are a subfamily of rather nondescript brownish moths, often with intricate patterns that camouflage them as they rest on tree bark or among leaves on the forest floor.
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Costaconvexa centrostrigaria (formerly Orthonama centrostrigaria)
Description
The bent-line carpet and several similar geometrid moths are called carpet moths for their intricate wing patterns, reminiscent of the traditional carpets of Asia and the Middle East.
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Scientific Name
Patalene olyzonaria
Description
The juniper-twig geometer is one of many geometrid moths that look like a dried-up leaf. Look for them around porch lights April through November. Larvae eat junipers, including eastern red cedar.
See Also
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Species Types
Scientific Name
About 1,500 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Adult caddisflies are mothlike. Their larvae are aquatic and build portable, protective cases out of local materials, including grains of sand, bits of leaves and twigs, and other debris.
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Scientific Name
Corydalus cornutus
Description
Adult eastern dobsonflies are huge and mothlike, with large wings and a weak, fluttery flight. The fiercely predaceous aquatic larvae, called hellgrammites, are well-known to anglers, who often use them as bait.
About Butterflies and Moths in Missouri
Butterflies, skippers, and moths belong to an insect order called the Lepidoptera — the "scale-winged" insects. These living jewels have tiny, overlapping scales that cover their wings like shingles. The scales, whether muted or colorful, seem dusty if they rub off on your fingers. Many butterflies and moths are associated with particular types of food plants, which their caterpillars must eat in order to survive.