Observation date: August 09, 2026
Submitted by: transthropology
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: Found initially on a gutter downspout in central Washington. Downspout is about 35 feet from a natural creek greenbelt, about 70 feet from the creek itself. The greenbelt has cottonwoods, birches, dogwoods, honeylocusts, willows. Greenbelt also has milkweed, but unsure about other plants. Moth was stationary until it found the picture-taking a bit too invasive, at which point it fell and then flew into the grass of the yard. It tried crawling through the grass and did crawl into my hand. After getting onto my hand, it crawled up my thumb and used that as a launch point to fly to a dandelion flower in a sandy-soil patch. The wings moved too quickly to be seen, similar in speed and sound to a hummingbird. It is a warm day, 84° F, around 30% humidity, with a slow breeze under 5 mph. It is overcast and smokey because of nearby wildfires. This is the first time I have seen this type of moth in our area. Photos taken with two phones, one of which has AI-smoothing that cannot be disabled.
Status: Resident
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: August 11, 2026
Coordinator notes: Aka Sesia pacificum
