Saturday, December 05, 2009

Small Yellow Moth



During the summer months there is a frequent bright yellow visitor that flutters around in our front yard going from flower to flower. While moving our furniture to accommodate our Christmas Tree we found the remains of the moth that is pictured here. I never realized how difficult it can be to identify moths since there appears to be so many species and subspecies. Many are similar and yet not exactly the same. The closest moth that I was able to identify in this case was the False Crocus Geometer [Xanthotype urticaria]. The colour is similar however the shape of the wing looks more like a Pale Beauty [Campaea perlata] which is definitely a different colour being mainly white . Also the False Crocus Geometer has a more mottled yellow colour than this sample. So using my resources at hand this is as close as I have been able to come to identifying the moth. I think the next time I get a chance to shop for field identification books I might consider a book just on moths and butterflies.