Species: Alsophila pometaria

Hodges: 6258

Flight Period: Late October - December

Length: 26-32mm

Peterson: 209

Hosts: Deciduous trees and rose species

Field Notes: This has to be one of the most interesting-drab-looking moths in Troy Meadows - an oxymoron I know. Let me explain. First of all, as the name implies, it's a distinct biomarker of the fall season. To find this moth fluttering about a woodland is to know its mid-October or November. White-tail deer hunters call them "Hunter's Moths." The females are wingless (image bottom right) and attract males by crawling up a tree trunk and wafting pheromones (sexual chemical signals) that guide them to their paramour. The female then deposits a unique series of geometrically shaped eggs around a twig - looks like a barrel when complete. In outbreak years this moth is considered to be a pest. As an early season defoliator, this moth periodically can do significant damage to forests. The good news is forests have evolved a natural counter balance to help correct the issue. Braconid wasps (image upper left) will lay eggs in cankerworm larvae, eating the caterpillar from the inside out. This inherent biologic control agent is one of hundreds of thousands of natural connections imbedded into the fabric of the Meadows. Many of these connections are little understood but their protection is of paramount importance for proper ecologically functioning to continue.