Observation date: December 22, 2019
Submitted by: Petpawz
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: Very cold outside (10°F), certainly not weather for moths, so not surprisingly, this moth (I'm assuming it's a moth but I don't know for sure) was inside my house. The photo is from my kitchen, the moth is sitting on the lip of my counter, next to a glass in which I'm growing some plant cuttings. But it's not on the plants or the glass. It's on the green metal edge of counter, behind kitchen sink and directly below an LED "under counter" style light, which is on 24 hours a day. I assume it was attracted to this light. (It's a very bright light.) Seeing as it's late December, sunrise didn't happen until 07:20am, which is the same time I found it. Anyway, I thought it might be worth noting that I have a house full of plants, which my be attractive to moths? I seriously don't know the 1st thing about moth behavior, other than they're usually attracted to light. I find the markings on the outer wings edges to be interesting. I tried to identify it using Google Lens (via my phone's camera app) but it only came back with "Hebrew Character" & I'm absolutely certain this is NOT a Hebrew Character moth. That's all the info I have. If you have questions, I'm happy to try to help. I thank you in advance for your assistance.
**I added a 2nd photo, which is a much better image to zoom in on & get really up close details of this moth.
Status: Resident
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: December 23, 2019
Coordinator notes: The maculation of X. c-nigrum is identical to X. dolosa. The best way to separate the two species is by size. X. c-nigrum averages 6 mm (fore wing apex to apex) smaller than X. dolosa.
