Pink-striped Oakworm Moths

Pink Striped Oakworm Moths

 

A few years ago on a morning after a big thunderstorm, I found an unusual moth on the screen of the sliding glass door to our deck--I'd never seen one like it before. I later identified it as a female pink-striped oakworm moth (Anisota virginensis pellucida). It belongs to the silk moth family, and is quite common in the eastern half of the U.S. and the south.

The moth on the screen did not move for a long time--eventually I presumed it was dead, so I scooped it up for my collection of insects that I use as models for some of my botanical pieces. After a week I checked on the moth to discover that it had laid eggs after I put it in my box. Apparently it had not been dead when I picked it up!

So, when I found another female pink-striped oakworm moth on the same sliding glass door last week, I pointed it out to Herb and left it alone. About an hour later, Herb yelled out that I had to come downstairs to look at something. Imagine my surprise to find that a male pink-striped oakworm moth was in the process of mating with the female on the glass door!

From the other side of the glass.

 

I ran to grab my phone and camera, but had a hard time getting my camera to focus (I had the telephoto lens on it). I managed to get these few shots with my phone. Fascinating! Apparently when it's the right time to mate, the females secrete pheromones and position themselves so that the males can find them easily, usually early in the morning.

The moths mate quickly, at least that's what I've read, but these two stayed joined together for the rest of the day. At one point they both fell onto the deck, but somehow managed to climb back up on the glass door. Towards evening I was afraid that they would become trapped and squashed by the sliding screen when we opened and closed the glass door to go out on the deck, so I put a paper underneath them, scooped them up and gently laid both of them, still joined, on the plant stand nearby. 

 

 

The next morning they were both gone--I presume the female flew to one of the oak trees in back to lay her eggs, and the male flew away probably to die soon after. I feel privileged to have gotten this fascinating glimpse into nature's secret workings. Now I need to come up with a painting where I can illustrate these lovely moths and the oaks that host their larva. Perhaps I may run into some of the caterpillars later on. The life cycle of this silk moth would make a wonderful painting!