A clouded crimson owlet moth (Schinia gaurae) visiting velvetweed (Oenothera curtiflora) – a host plant for the moth's caterpillars. At San Pedro House, Cochise County, Arizona.
A convoluted etymology note: Clouded crimsons are members of the Noctuidae moth family. The name is derived from the little owl of Europe, Asia, and North Africa (Athene noctua), which is the owl associated with the Greek goddess Athena, the patroness deity of the city-state of Athens. The city's emblem was the little owl, and to strengthen the symbolic connection, Athena is typically represented wearing a Corinthian helmet with an owl perched on top. ("Good lord," you are asking, "what does this have to do with moths?") In turn, the moth family of over 30,000 identified species are called owlet moths after Athena's little owl, because of their nocturnal habits and their large owl-like eyes. There are archetypes and primordial patterns of thought and shared experience coded and embedded in the names of the simplest and most commonplace things we encounter. Think of that the next time you brush away a moth that is fluttering around your phone when you are scrolling in the dark.