July 25th, 2008
pretty in pink
A couple of days ago, I deked outside during a break between rain showers, to take a look around the garden for signs of insect activity. There wasn’t much happening, but as I scanned the Evening Primroses that grow wild at the edge of one of our old fields, I noticed a moth among the petals (see below — click on all photos for larger views).
Evening Primrose Moths (Schinia Florida – Hodges 11164) are often found with their heads pressed into the center of a flower, with mouthparts feeding on nectar. You can see that in the photo just below.
They’re very striking moths — yellow with soft to brilliant pink wing markings, legs and heads. Always a nice find, making it well worth searching for them among the Evening Primroses. I should probably mention that, in the top photo, you can see that the moth’s wings are blurred. As it was a cool rainy day, the moth began fanning its wings — which is pretty much the flying insect equivalent of shivering.
July 25th, 2008 at 11:30 am
That’s quite striking. I don’t think I have seen anything like it.
July 25th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
What an interesting moth … and what great photos to show it off!
July 25th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
What a spectacular moth, bev. It reminds me of the fist time I ever saw a pink moth. It was a ceanothus silk moth, Hyalophora euryalus. It was so beautiful I couldn’t believe it. It was the first creature I ever photographed. This Evening Primrose moth is as lovely and fine.
July 25th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Bev, you must think I just fell off a turnip truck….that’s no Evening Primrose Moth, that’s a Mary Kay Pink Cadillac Moth, no question! Seriously, I have never heard of such a moth and the color looks so horribly like Mary Kay’s pink Cadillac ladies’ cars, that I couldn’t help but think it was Photoshopped. But then, I realized it was your work, and I knew better instantly! That’s some spectacular stuff!
July 26th, 2008 at 7:09 am
John – Yes, for such small moths, they really are quite striking.
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Cicero – Thanks!
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robin – I would love to have seen that silk moth. Some of them are absolutely spectacular.
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John – Ha! Yes, they do look a little surreal don’t they? Sort of a Mary Kay Cadillac or Barbie doll shade of hot pink. I don’t usually find one that looks that fresh — more often, they are starting to fade a little. Neat little creatures though, aren’t they?
July 27th, 2008 at 7:03 am
what a lovely moth, such a wonderful colour and such excellent photos you took of it.
July 27th, 2008 at 8:05 am
CG Poet – Thank you! (-:
July 27th, 2008 at 9:13 am
It’s been awhile since I’ve left a comment. I’m delighted this morning by that lovely pink moth. Now I’m remembering small blue moths from my childhood on the San Francisco peninsula.
Still am stopping in my daily life to look closely at insects. Again, thanks so much for calling their beauty to my attention with your photographs. Some friends laughed when I looked closely at an insect walking slowly across a wood floor and surprised myself by saying, “What a beautiful creature! I love it!”
July 27th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Oh Bev. It’s so good to be here again and observing that you are still observing :0)
All the buggy delight. Can’t pick a favorite.
Still . . . the photo of the lilacs and clouds and the split rail fence. Oh my.
July 28th, 2008 at 4:58 am
Oh my gosh… I just saw the same combination of moth and flower on Friday, but I was in too much of a hurry to stop and photograph it… (Had 9 teenage boys in a creek and 9 parents in a parking lot waiting…) I’m glad you took the time to photograph it!!!
July 28th, 2008 at 8:04 am
am – Good to see you stopping by for a visit and also enjoying the insect world so much. I really can’t go outside of my house for more than 2 or 3 minutes without seeing something beautiful in the garden.
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Cathy – Also good to see you dropping by for a visit. Glad you liked that lilacs, clouds and split rail fence – I can imagine it being a scene that you would like very much!
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Jennifer – Ha! That’s so interesting! Well, good thing I took those photos and posted them for you. (-:
July 28th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Ooooh, oooh! So cool! I love moths and this one is just spectacular. Sadly, I have never seen one around my Evening Primroses…sigh.
July 29th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
How pretty! I’ve never seen anything like it before!
August 3rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
ah, i needed this moth ‘fix’ ;) love these guys.. so much like rosy maples, only much more pink..our evening primrose is a moth magnet, never find many butterflies on it but moths go crazy for it- great shots sweets!
August 5th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Schinia is a favorite moth genus for me, and you definitely did it justice. Do you also have Schina gaurae up by you? It’s another pink beauty that feeds on members of the evening primrose family. I find it more often on biennial gaura, though it does show up on evening primrose occasionally.
August 5th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Phantom Midge – Yes, it is a spectacular moth — small, but very neat!
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Jenna – I hope you’ll get a chance to see one. Keep checking Evening Primroses and I’m sure you will.
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Cindy – Yes, similar to a Rosy Maple, but yes, *very* pink!
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Doug – Thanks! I just checked the Ontario NHIC database and can’t find Schinia gaurae listed, so I’m guessing there are no official records for that species.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Oh, wow! That is an extremely beautiful creature, and these are great photos. I’m a little ashamed to admit I didn’t even know pink moths existed, but I really don’t know much about the insect world.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
beautiful.. they look like the moths (I’m not sure they’re moths) I catched on a trip last year..(http://speolog.deviantart.com/art/a-very-important-meeting-40202550
August 9th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Hi, great website and stunning photos!
I love that moth, that is something else and an awesome photo of it.
Rob
August 24th, 2008 at 8:37 am
mothtastic! love it
August 25th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
gorgeous! I saw one in Nolan County Texas, 1973. Thank you!
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:03 pm
So sweett.. its like using Robe.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
the back of my home tonight has thousands of these moths, just beautiful .Iv’e never seen so many, why now?
August 1st, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I was walking along a dirt road in Norwich VT and saw “something pink” on a wildflower. The plant turned out to be an evening primrose. Having never seen anything like this moth, I thought it might be a mutant. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen! What ongoing surprises nature has for us if we will only watch!
August 1st, 2009 at 8:09 pm
mary and Karen – So glad that both of you were able to see these moths. They really are quite fantastic, aren’t they?!
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:51 am
Hello,
My daughter Tiffany came in last night after taking the dogs out with most amazing picture of a pink moth. I honestly didn’t think that they existed so I did a search and found your site. Her picture is on her phone. We’ll post it soon. Absolutely beautiful!