Thought it was bird poo at first…
May 9, 2010
Dear Bugman,
I found this interesting moth today on the deck around my mother-in-law’s pool. I probably would have dismissed it as bird droppings, had there not been other moths in the area. Interesting defense mechanism, I assume?
Cassie Shaw
Cleveland, MS
Dear Cassie,
WE are very happy that we took the time to look at our old mail dating from a brief trip to Ohio. Your well camouflaged moth is a Beautiful Wood Nymph, Eudryas grata, which can be distinguished from its close relative, the Pearly Wood Nymph, Eudryas unio, because it is: “larger than Pearly Wood-Nymph (E. unio), and the dark band along outer margin of forewing is smoothly curved on the inside, not scalloped as in E. unio” according to BugGuide.