TINY mothies: apparently I've been DYING to see them & I DID!!!

I've REALLY wanted to see 

a really small moth ever since I learned about them

from Chris Grinter (@skepticalmoth).

Last night I DID spy tiny moths & got some photos.

Dark thing in lower left corner is a small ant, for scale...

Nectaring on a gaillardia...

Same moth, with flash... sparkly!

Only took a few shots w/automatic flash--seemed to upset the poor creature.

Paparazzi--SO gauche.

Here's a different (slightly larger) individual w/in (my) reach of the 1st.

That body plan confounds me.

Chris thinks these are probably plume moths, from the family Pterophoridae. 

He is ALL about these tiny little animals,

plus lots of other fabulous inverts, has a great blog,

and takes SUCH great photos, you may want to slap him.

Here's just one example of the

amazing images he shares of microleps

(what the pros call the TINY lepidopterans).

Meanwhile, back on the ranch...

The wings!!

Flying tiny apparently poses different challenges,

hence microleps are known for narrower, feathery wings

versus the big, dusty plates of their larger brethren.

Like feathery oars...

If I remember correctly, when you're REALLY small,

the air is relatively more viscous (thicker),

so different structures work better to move your tiny bod.

When they fly, you just see a wee blur,

drifting past, like plankton.

And you think, "What the heck was that?!?"

Legs, legs, legs.

So spiky.

I'm guessing all those spikes help them hang on,
and not get blown away by the tiniest breeze?
Although the other one's legs aren't nearly so spiky.

Can you tell I'm fascinated?

*sigh*

So, didn't get to sleep until LATE (for me) 'cause I was SO pumped about this. =)

I've been SO richly rewarded for the pollinator-attracting seed mix I planted years ago.

I HIGHLY recommend it. Best part of summer, IMHO.

Well, that and perfectly ripe peaches.

=)

xoxoxoxo bb

so... is this a katydid?

 

These are all pretty big pictures, so feel free to click for a closer look.

They are cropped, so clarity isn't spectacular, 

but you run with the horses you've got.

Or, so I hear. =)

"I don't want my picture taken..."

 

Seems the resting pose is antennae together...

Eventually I paid it enough attention, it separated its antennae,

lifting one up for a whiff of the goingson.

Until then, I couldn't be certain that there were 2 appendages.

Playing around in bugguide.net, it looks a bit like other creatures in the Scudderia genus, home to Scudder's bush katydids, specifically, the nymphs. They are a subset of the subfamily Phaneropterinae, false katydids.

Not sure what they did to be called false...

Of course, this being a pretty darn dry place, with lots of bleached blonde grass, this creature is suitably colored to blend in, versus many of the green creatures pictured in bugguide.

However, the Scudderia section does say:

"We made a no taxon page for the young katydid nymphs with the striped antennae which are all apparently in the genus Scudderia but not identifiable to species. It is quite likely that nymphs of Inscudderia are also included among these."

Considering my little creatures (2 different individuals, cozied up to my door frame) do not have obviously striped antennae, I still may have a ways to go to get an ID.

I really am not an entomologist, so if anyone has any thoughts re: confirming or correcting my guess, please feel free.

I wanna learn.

=)

Thanks!

biobabbler

P.S. Killer Moth Update

Another day, another sighting of the moth which parasitizes paper wasps. It's resting on our window screen, in the shade, south wall, about 10 feet from the nearest wasp nest. =)

Funny how you can learn something in biology, and what initially had looked like a dull, peaceful scene, a moth just hanging out, turns out to be a scene filled with intrigue and the possibility of a gruesome death, worthy of the most dramatic Hitchcock music.

Mwa ha ha ha ha....