Moth ID confirmed by prizewinning Moth-er
Photo by Bill Taylor Two days ago I received the photo above on my website mail address,
with the following note:
Dear Ms. Winn:
I am hoping you can help me identify the attached moth photos. I took these photos in September in our backyard in Mahopac,NY. Thank you in advance.
Thanks,
Bill Taylor
I thought I knew the moth, but there was something funny in the photo, at the bottom. Then I had an idea about that too. I sent Bill Taylor my ID of the moth species and my explanation for the funny thing at the bottom. Then, just to be sure, I sent the picture and my idea to Dave Wagner, whom I once met at a NYC Butterfly Club meeting and have been corresponding with ever since.
As you may remember, I am wildly enthusiastic about Wagner's recent book , Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Not only do I have two copies of it -- one for my office and one for home, but I give it as a present at every opportunity: it's a magnificent book.
Wagner replied -- see note below, and added some great news about his book, which didn't surprise me. His book is simply one of the great Field Guides you'll ever find.
Here's my note, and Wagner's reply:
Hi Dave:with the following note:
Dear Ms. Winn:
I am hoping you can help me identify the attached moth photos. I took these photos in September in our backyard in Mahopac,NY. Thank you in advance.
Thanks,
Bill Taylor
I thought I knew the moth, but there was something funny in the photo, at the bottom. Then I had an idea about that too. I sent Bill Taylor my ID of the moth species and my explanation for the funny thing at the bottom. Then, just to be sure, I sent the picture and my idea to Dave Wagner, whom I once met at a NYC Butterfly Club meeting and have been corresponding with ever since.
As you may remember, I am wildly enthusiastic about Wagner's recent book , Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Not only do I have two copies of it -- one for my office and one for home, but I give it as a present at every opportunity: it's a magnificent book.
Wagner replied -- see note below, and added some great news about his book, which didn't surprise me. His book is simply one of the great Field Guides you'll ever find.
Here's my note, and Wagner's reply:
I wrote this guy back suggesting it was a Large Tolype [Tolype velleda] just emerged from its cocoon. I'm sending this along just in case you have a different idea, and because I thought you'd enjoy the picture.
Cheers, Marie
Wagner's reply:
That's my guess too. Good to hear from you. Received some good news this week--see note below.
I received a bit of good news that I wanted to share:
(1) Princeton ordered the fourth printing of the guide a couple weeks ago and
(2) yesterday the book won the 2006 National Outdoor Book Award for nature guidebooks: http://www.isu.edu/outdoor/books/books06.htm.
PS from Marie
Other winners of this prize include David Attenborough (Life in the Underground) and John Nielsen (Condor: To The Brink and Back).
The National Outdoor Book Awards (NOBA) is the outdoor world's largest and most prestigious book award program. It is a non-profit, educational program, sponsored by the NOBA Foundation, Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education, and Idaho State University."
PPS from Marie:
Isn't that a great, amazing moth?