Ben here with today's edition of #BenInNature presented by our friends at Carter Bank & Trust!

May 24, 2021

Ben here with today's edition of #BenInNature presented by our friends at Carter Bank & Trust!

Regular #BenInNature readers know that there are few things I love more than a cool moth. Let's kick off the week with the coolest moth I've seen so far this year: Paonias astylus, the huckleberry sphinx!

These moths can be found from Maine south to Florida and west to Missouri and Mississippi. Throughout most of their range, they're on the wing from March through June. The caterpillars feed on huckleberry, blueberry, cherries, and willows.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find too much additional information about these unique moths. According to bugguide.net (a wonderful website I highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about the insect world), these moths are considered "uncommon to rare." This is certainly the first one I've seen since I started doing these nature posts way back in March 2020!

ABOUT #BenInNature
Social distancing can be difficult, but it presents a great opportunity to become reacquainted with nature. In this series of posts, Administrator of Science Ben Williams ventures outdoors to record a snapshot of the unique sights that can be found in the natural world. New updates are posted Monday - Friday, with previous posts highlighted on the weekends. This series of posts is made possible thanks to the support of VMNH Corporate Partner Carter Bank & Trust (www.cbtcares.com).

NATURE PHOTO IDENTIFICATIONS
If you discover something in nature that you would like help identifying, be sure to message us right here on Facebook with a picture (please include location and date of picture) and we'll have our experts help you identify it!