Moth disquised as bark or bird poop?
Hey there Bug Man,
I was out working in the driveway and noticed what I thought was bird poop at first on the brick garage return. As I got closer I knew exactly what it was, a very well disguised moth. I haven’t had a chance to look it up and I always love seeing new bugs on your site so I thought I would shoot it your way. Would love to share it with your devout viewers. Thanks again
Ekoesling
Hi Ekoesling,
This wonderful Bird Dropping mimic is a Wood Nymph Moth in the genus Eudryas. Disguising oneself like fecal matter is one good way to keep from being eaten, and there are numerous examples in nature where this works. Sometimes looking like $#!+ isn’t a bad thing.
Update: June 29, 2018
This is a Beautiful Wood Nymph, Eudryas grata, (see BugGuide) which can be distinguished from the very similar looking Pearly Wood Nymph, according to BugGuide, because the “dark band along outer margin of forewing is scalloped on the inside, not smoothly curved.”