Ailanthus webworm moth on kidneywood buds

When I got close to the kidneywood tree, Eysenhrdtia texana, that you saw last time, I noticed a small insect. It was an Ailanthus webworm moth, Atteva aurea. The slender moth moved around and flew away from time to time, especially when I tried to photograph it and got too near, but eventually I managed to take some close-ups of it on a spike of kidneywood buds. That’s what you see here (and if you go back and look carefully at the center of yesterday’s photo you’ll see that the moth was in that picture, too).

The date was October 3rd, and the location was a place by the side of a road in my neighborhood that I drive past every day.

Halloween was a week ago, and the thought crossed my mind—forget zombies, ghouls, and witches—that someone wanting an original costume might dress up as an Ailanthus webworm moth next year. If any reader follows that suggestion, be sure to send a photo of yourself in costume.

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I’ll be out of town for the next few days, so please forbear if it takes me a while to answer comments.

© 2013 Steven Schwartzman