#common looper moth

[onenicebugperday]

@pleasespellchimerical submitted: A funky lil moth we pulled out of the portapotty this summer! I don't know why it was chilling in there but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Upstate NY

When you gotta go, you gotta go. Kinda rude of you to walk in on them :\ Luckily they aren’t shy. It’s a common looper moth, if you were curious!

[debunkshy]

Common Looper Moth Autographa precationis Walking Iron Park, WI 22 August 2019

[what-bug-is-this]

What Bug is This? Moth Week Extravaganza 7/9: Common Looper Moth

adult: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, license; larva: mcl3, ​license​​​

Common name(s): common looper moth

Scientific name: Autographia precationis

Can it hurt me?: No

Can it hurt my plants?: Their caterpillars eat a variety of low-growing flowering plants.

Should I kill it?: If you’re concerned for your plants, go ahead. They generally lay their eggs in clusters on the undersides of leaves. The eggs are black and circular and the clusters usually have a white spot in the center. 

Anything else I should know?: While their caterpillars (loopers) resemble inchworms, they aren’t actually related to geometer moths.

[arcticarthropod]

Common looper cutie! You're special to me, little one.

[onenicebugperday]

@slowtiredlezbn submitted: I found this fren inside and helped them outside.

Hamilton ontario.

Very small....very precious. A common looper moth, as far as I can tell!

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Common Looper Moth - Autographa precationis

While this insect may be called “common”, there’s nothing ordinary about it, especially when compared to its relatives. I’ll get into its head ornamentation in the next paragraph (since that is literally its most outstanding feature), and for now I’d like to draw your attention to the spot that adorns this Moth’s wing. This is one of the keys to identifying it successfully. Its relatives have distinctly separate spots or even no spot at all, meanwhile the Common Looper has one large V-shaped spot with the appearance of 2 spots that have merged. Variability between individuals may have the spots slightly separated from each other, but only slightly. Combine that with a thorough inspection of the wing pattern, the wing’s color gradients and the ornamentation, you’ll know with looper you have. Why are these Moths called loopers? It’s a trait related to the green Caterpillars as they move around from leaf to leaf: they arch their bodies, creating a loop shape as they squash and stretch to move forward. It may be tempted to call them “inchworms”, but that’s more so a designation for Geometrid Moth Caterpillars. Also, these looper Caterpillars tend to appear far more stockier compared to the thinner inchworms.

Just at a passing glance, this insect could probably hide in plain sight if it landed against the bark of a tree. The ability to camouflage is very useful in the insect world, especially if you need to hide from a hungry something or other, or you just need a rest during the day. Unfortunately, this Owlet Moth’s patterning isn’t as effective against glass or brick, but it does allow us to get a much better look at it. Compared to other Moths on this blog, this specie is set apart by the crest-like structures on their head and back. While these look like body protrusions at first, they are in fact parts of the wing. They pop up when the Moth is at rest with the wings folded directly behind them, but they disappear when the Moth moves its wings to the side to get ready for a flight or just after landing from a flight (see Picture 10). Many other Looper Moths feature similar structures along the spine of their body (all are part of the wings), but from where I sit, the Common Looper has the most prominent notches.

Pictures were taken on July 22, 2019 and July 12, 2022 with a Google Pixel 4.

[toddjdreyer]

That sporty Red Collar says, Autographa precationis / Common Looper Moth (8908)