Please identify, if possible
I’ve spent the last 2 hours trying to find this butterfly (or moth) at several different sites online…. including “What’s That Bug?” So far, I’ve not found it. Can you please identify it for me? As you can see, it is not very big. Thanks,
Donna Bryant,
East Texas
Hi Donna,
We did not recognize your moth, and we needed to do some research as well. We thought your specimen resembled an Eight Spotted Forrester, and we searched BugGuide for moths in that subfamily, Agaristinae. We quickly found your moth, Psychomorpha epimenis, Grapevine Epimenis, on BugGuide, which indicates: “larvae feed on the leaves of grape, family Vitaceae. Adults nectar on early spring blooming plums, cherries, and redbuds. ” We suspect the pollination to the fruit trees offsets any leaf damage caused by the caterpillars.