Northern Wilds Magazine
St. Lawrence Tiger Moth (Platarctia parthenos). Wingspan: 2 to 2.5 inches (5 to 6.5 cm). It’s unknown if the adults feed or not, but the caterpillars feed on leaves of alder, aspen, birch and willow. I’ve seen the hind wing described both as black with yellow stripes and yellow with black stripes.
Features

Northwoods Moths

We love seeing butterflies because they are so colorful. They are also accessible because they fly during the day. Our attitude toward moths, however, is quite different. We think of moths as small, drab, uninteresting insects, and many of them are. But there are also a lot of spectacular moths, and we don’t get to see them because most of them fly at night. Worldwide, moths outnumber butterflies by almost 10 to one. A quick internet search brought me to the Smithsonian website where I found that there are some 160,000 species of moths in the world, compared to 17,500 species of butterflies.

In summer, I often leave our porch light on for a few hours after dark to see if I can attract and photograph these beautiful insects. Here are some of the most interesting moths that I have seen.

Story and photos by Earl Orf.

Related posts

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Verified by MonsterInsights