Okay, okay. I was going to ask Matthew (who produced this graphic) to post it later, but so many people are demanding to know where the moth is that I’ll show it now. If you’re in the U.S. and aren’t up by 8 a.m. anyway (exclusive of Hawaii and Alaska), you’re a slacker if you haven’t seen the original photo.
Now, if you’re really good at insects, tell us what kind of moth it is.
[UPDATE: Martin Stevens, who took the photo, sent me this version of the reveal (the moth has its wings spread flat and its head is pointing to 8 o’clock (ish)):
For those of you who couldn’t see it (and that includes Jerry), don’t beat yourselves up. Martin tw**ted me: “It is hard to see! I show it in lectures and in outreach etc and few people find it without help or the close up version!” – Matthew Cobb]
SECOND UPDATE: (by JAC): Reader Amy noted this, as did I when I looked closely. There’s a hidden ogre in the tree, circled in the picture below, leading Amy to wonder if that’s why the moth was trying to hide:
Thanks Jerry – I guessed wrong!
“…but so many people are demanding to know where the moth is that I’ll show it now.”
So whining is effective? 😉
Even with the red circle to guide me I still found that difficult to see. What amazing camouflage.
Ahhh I feel better now.
Me too. But it’s your fault I first responded under the picture…
😉
Muhahahaha!
There’s no way I would have spotted that at the original image’s resolution…even with this one, I had to go to the high-resolution one to realize that, yes, the moth really is centered in the circle; it’s facing eight o’clock. I was at first thinking it was facing straight up and off-center as if it was sitting on a clock hand pointed at nine o’clock.
b&
Exactly. The game was rigged, I tell ya!
I think many of us saw a larger ‘moth’ farther down, toward the left of center. I know that I totally missed this one.
I still wouldn’t stake my life on seeing it…
Maybe I’d been looking for Inspector Clouseau’s “muths”…
Yup. That is exactly where I thought it wasn’t.
😀
The kind of moth is a member of the family Geometridae. These are the moths of ‘inchworm’ caterpillars. I do not know the species.
“tell us what kind of moth it is”
The invisible kind. But really, how long can you hang around on one tree?
The kind that creationists won’t admit to being the product of natural selection.
I’m guessing it’s a Geometrid moth?
Maybe genus Epimecis?
Gazing into my old, beloved copy of The Moth Book by W.J. Holland, it looks to me like the example of Epimecis they have lacks the fine, horizontal bands of color on the hind wings. There is a pretty good match with Triphossa progressata.
Plate XLII, moth # 45.
Wow. I couldn’t find the damn thing! Thanks for pointing it out!
I must confess that the reason I found it was primarily due to reasoning that the person taking the photo, being science oriented and therefore guileless, would point the camera straight at the subject.
Yay me!, got it right! *pats self on back* 😛
Kind of moth? It’s a camothflage…and darn good at it too!
You gotta look out for tree ogres. They’re knot friendly.
Their bark is worse than their bite.
Now I feel old and blind AND sick!
Better old and blind and sick, than being in pine. Because that’s what happen with tree ogres around.
You forget!…been there, done that. Besides, I’ve donate this old thing to science (medical or forensic, whoever gets there first.)
But the best of new years to you!
I’d have to poke it with a stick to believe it. 🙂
But silly me, I should have followed my first instincts and exhausted my search of the center of the photo, before moving on elsewhere!
I still can’t see the moth. Great birthday gift, making me feel even more old and blind! (DISCLAIMER: This is a joke. While I am having difficulty actually differentiating the moth from the bark, I do not really feel old and my lack of perfect vision is most often a blessing; I miss seeing some of the ugliness of life and it has forced me to become more observant. And it makes HDTV pointless and an unnecessary expense.)
Half yay, half duh! I got the position right (+1 for texture perception), but the orientation wrong (-1 for resolution – this is also why a crack was confusing my guesstimated outline). I guesstimated the head pointing 4 o’clock instead of 8.
Well I found this one on the original, but only because I trusted it had to be there. I didn’t find it by the outline, or the wings, but by the ridge of the body. Just barely enough shadow to give it away.
The tree ogre rocks!
So it’s facing down to the left, with its wings spread (I think?) I was looking for a narrow-delta shape, no wonder I couldn’t spot it.
In my opinion, there is a second moth below the Tree Ogre:
http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/1035/ngg4.jpg
http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/607/zahs.jpg
Could be an angel or a succubus guarding and tormenting the tree ogre. 😉
Or an incubus if the tree ogre is gay… :p 😀