Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

  Sighting 1331747

Observation date: July 05, 2022
Submitted by: rtsmith
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: Gypsy Moths have invaded "Happy Valley." :-( Within the past week numerous Gypsy Moths have increasingly been appearing around our yard (and trying to get inside if given the chance). Taking a glance in any direction outside this afternoon, you would typically see three or more in your field of view. Given their erratic flight patterns, and the very few occasions when they actually landed somewhere (and then only for a few seconds at most), I'm guessing they are males looking for females with which to mate. No chance to get any photos until at about 2:30 PM I found one stuck in some 1/4-inch metal hardware cloth protecting some our garden plants. In the included photo, the top two shots were taken shortly after his capture (top view on the left and bottom view on the right). At the time it was mostly cloudy with an air temperature of about 71°F, dew point at 70°F, relative humidity 97% (there had been some light rain earlier), there was an 8 mph breeze from the southwest, and the air pressure was at 28.59 inches. To put him out of his misery he was placed in a container in the freezer overnight. The bottom three shots (from left to right: top view, side view, and bottom view) were taken the next day. Obviously a lot of scales had been lost during handling. - Tim
Status: Resident
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: July 08, 2022
Coordinator notes: None.
Checklist region(s): United States, Pennsylvania, Centre County