Wingless Winter Moths

November at dusk with the temperature barely breaking 40 degrees I could see my breath. Yet, all around me moths fluttered through the woods. They were one of two species in the genus Operophtera, visually drab, but physically magical. Whether these were the native Bruce Spanworm (O. bruceata) or the introduced Winter Moth (O. brumata), devilishly hard to identify, I couldn't discern. Either way, both of these small, cold weather moths are thermo-conformers. Incredibly, they can fly with air and body temperature ranging from just 27 up to a balmy 77 degrees.

Read more about this amazing moth: http://onemeter2.wordpress.com/2013/11/10/wingless-winter-moths/

Check out a map for Bruce Spanworm observations this year:
http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/121236-Operophtera-bruceata/map#8.00/43.924/-72.561

Publicado el 30 de noviembre de 2013 por kpmcfarland