Buggy Accessory: Walnut Underwing
Location: Mount Washington, Los Angeles, California
September 1, 2013
This Walnut Underwing was on the front door in the morning. We spotted it before the sun rose. We waited for better light to photograph it. It makes a lovely accessory on Jennifer’s scarf.
As moths go, Underwings are rather long lived, like many Noctuoids. A Walnut Underwing visits our office certain summers. We are confident it is subsequent generations, but we are also confident that Walnut Underwings are reproducing in Elyria Canyon Park. When Underwings fly, they reveal their gaily colored underwings, a survival adaptation that attracts the attention of insectivorous birds that lose the moth when it alights camouflaged on a tree trunk.
