(Photo and article by Anita Fernandez)
It doesn’t “sit” like a regular-looking moth in the typical triangular shape, and it’s active during the day. This individual, which looks a little like a beetle taking on some Monarch coloration (which is thought to be a mimicry adaptation to fool predators), is one of the uncommon day-flying moths in the genus Cisseps, a group known for their distinctive yellow or orange “collar” on the thorax. This particular moth is most likely a Yellow Collared Scape Moth, Cisseps fulvicollis, even though the “collar” of this species is more often orange than yellow, except in the Midwest. The word “scape” in the species’ common name is thought to refer to the stalk-like appearance of the base of each antenna, as the word scape means stalk. This feature is not readily apparent in this photo, but the orange mouthpart, or proboscis, can be easily seen unfurled against the flower petal. The hindwing, which is rarely seen, is translucent except for the black margins and veins. These moths are much smaller than the more noticeable day-flying sphinx moths, which can easily be confused with hummingbirds, with a wingspan of up to only 1 ½ inches. They do, however, have a long flight period which extends well into autumn as some of their preferred food sources as adults are late-blooming asters and goldenrods. But, what about the babies, you may be asking. In the larval stage, or as caterpillars, they are herbivores, feeding on grasses, sedges, and lichens near ground level. The larvae, unlike the adults, are nocturnal, and this species overwinters in a mid-instar stage (as a caterpillar but not a fully grown caterpillar).