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Orthosia hibisci
First Noctuid of 2013! Sorry for the terrible photo--this guy was difficult to focus on for some reason.
Spotted on Apr 8, 2013
Submitted on Apr 12, 2013
6 Comments
Thank you Ken, and Dwayne! That explains the slight gray in the inside forewing in the second photo!
"rubescens is more straw yellow and rusty red where hibisci always has at least some gray on it."
Thanks to Dwayne Badgero for this tidbit of information.
Thank you very much, Ken! It is amazing how variable species can be within their range. Orthosia hibisci would be a lifer for me! :)
I checked with someone more knowledgeable and It's Orthosia hibisci.
I'm comfortable with the moths I see on my farm but many times moths of the same species from different places look very different from what I see here. :)
Thank you, childs.kj! Is there a reliable way to rule out Orthosia hibisci http://bugguide.net/node/view/4865
from Orthosia rubescens http://bugguide.net/node/view/37720? Thank you very much!
Definitely Orthosia, probably Orthosia rubescens.