Harris's Three Spot, Harrisimemna trisignata
Noctuidae or Owlet Moth Family
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Small
moth, about an inch and a half across Has a brown cape across its
back. The forewings are white with an elaborate, kaleidoscopic
pattern, including three brown spots on each wing, black triangles
along the edges and swirling black lines. The hindwings, which
are generally hidden under the forewings, are fairly plain white in the
male and plain brown in the female. Adults fly from spring to
fall. Caterpillar is uglier than you can imagine. To me it looks like a cross between a starving sea horse and hairy bird poop, gnarly, twisty and bumpy, colored in black, browns and tans, and with protruding stiff white and black hairs. The hind end has been described as resembling a jumping spider with beady eyes and fangs. To top it off, each time it molts, it retains the skin of the head, in a series of little helmets strung along hairs like a bizarre feathered headdress. When threatened it will whip the would-be predator with its string of heads. The weird little caterpillar eat the leaves of a wide variety of woody plants; it's not particular. When the time comes, it chews a tunnel into rotting wood, crawls inside and pupates. The beautiful moth crawls forth to fly, mate and lay eggs. A true ugly duckling becomes a beautiful swan story. Native all over the eastern US and southern Canada from Oklahoma and Texas to Newfoundland. Unmistakeable. If it has three brown spots and swirls like the picture, it's a Harris's Three Spot. |
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