The first tw**t (I added others when I saw where this came from) is from naturalist and photographer Gil Wizen, who, like me, is a fan of mimicry. He’s given me permission to reproduce some of his stories and photos (like this amazing account of sexually-selected flies), and I’ll soon get around to that. In the meantime, he’s been posting mimicry photos on his Twitter page as well as photos for National Moth Week, and here’s a good one showing a mimic and a moth in one creature:
Last daily photo to celebrate #NationalMothWeek: THIS IS NOT A LEAF.
Amazing leaf-mimic moth from Ecuador. pic.twitter.com/67Ltzzf46f— Gil Wizen (@wizentrop) July 31, 2016
He doesn’t give the species, but perhaps Lou Jost can help us out here. If you like insects and great photography, you could do worse than follow Gil.
Oh hell, I’ll show some more great moths, and if you like these, go look at the #2017NationalMothWeek Twitter site.
This week is #NationalMothWeek! Here's a fuzzy Black-Waved Flannel Moth (Lagoa crispata) from #Ohio to kick the week off!#Insects pic.twitter.com/AP3DdOT2F9
— Kyle Brooks (@Kyle_From_Ohio) July 23, 2017
Be sure to play the video on this one:
Since it's #NationalMothWeek2017 lets revisit the snugly "Bunny Moth" that @wizentrop & I found in Belize, more -> https://t.co/l0TW6jKAZf pic.twitter.com/wAi4tr5wZ9
— 🌻Nash Turley🐞 (@NashTurley) July 25, 2017
Another mimic, which I think is a hawk moth:
みんな大好きオオスカシバ。 pic.twitter.com/yFg6NMU6Ll
— coco (@coco_n) July 25, 2017
A tomato to begin #NationalMothWeek2017 with: FOY Rosy Maple Moth #nmw pic.twitter.com/c4ipB6DSBl
— Dendroicist (@Dendroicist) July 22, 2017
I think we are wont to underestimate them and overlook how lovely they are…the Rosy Maple is beautiful.
Gorgeous critters – I couldn’t believe the hummingbird moths I saw the first time back in ’99.
They also have a fine radion show on NPR.
Whoo-hooo! Shake out your wool sweaters and flick on the porch light!
This is one of the best mimics ever! Of course we don’t get to see it from all angles. If we [or some ultracurious bird] happened to peek under the upper edge [as presented in this photo], we might see little moth eyes or antennae or a couple of legs.
The ocellate mottles on the left edge are guides to the fanning-out of the four wings, Otherwise not a clue, particularly with the exact alignment of the ‘mid-rib’ across the four wings.
If you follow this image to its original Twitter, you find the even more amazing “Canadian Northern Sock Mimic”…whose detail extends to range of shoe size!
Just amazing pictures.
+1
+1
The one with the Japanese text is a pellucid hawk moth.
Beautiful!!! Sorry, I don’t know the ID of that first moth, though probably it is a Saturniid like the Cecropia and Polyphemus moths of the US.
I got it. It is Homoeopteryx sumacensis.
Love those beauties. But one can’t forget about Mothra during National Moth Month.
Jenny, that was my first thought too.
3rd pic down (excluding the vid) looks like a species of hummingbird hawk moth. Not sure which one though. Doesn’t look quite the same as the one we get in the UK.
My fave species of UK moth (also a mimic) is the Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk Moth (Hemaris tityus – a bumblebee mimic). It’s soooooo damned cute! I saw one in the surrey Hills a year or two ago.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRhr7ULKGOMlTMGbzZS6mrQ7KbX-X9wg447SRFaK233b4jDsrstFg
Very good. I have seen rosy maple moths.