Can
you identify what's in this photo?
Each Wednesday morning
on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page
the Lutherlyn Environmental
Education Program posts a photo.
Readers
have all morning and afternoon
to
make their best guess about what the photo is.
Around
6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.
Each
week's What is it Wednesday post
will
also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
after it is posted on Facebook,
sometimes
with additional bonus information.
In
addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday
on the
Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
we
will be reposting old editions,
creating
a What is it Wednesday archive.
This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on
October 6, 2021.
And
the answer is....
This unusual-looking creature is actually a type of moth, known as a plume moth.
We see them frequently around the dining hall throughout the summer and into early fall.
Plume moths look the way they do because of unusually modified wings, and the resting position of those wings. Each wing is deeply cleft or lobed, creating two or three long narrow sections per wing, often with bristles extending from them. This gives the wings a very feathery look when they are open.
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under license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en |
However, we almost always see plume moths when their wings are at
rest – rolled tightly and extended out to the sides from the body, giving the
moth its distinctive T-shape.
Sometimes the more you learn about a simple encounter in nature, the more magical it becomes!
Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on
Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when
they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!
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