New to Me

Eight Spotted Forester

While I was outside watering our gardens today, I came across what I thought was a butterfly I'd never seen before.  It seemed happy to come across the water droplets on the surface of the patio.  As you can see in the photograph above, this specie has a bold pattern of white spots on glistening black wings and bright orange, furry looking leg patches.  When I tried to identify it, I came up with nothing to match in my butterfly guide.  It turns out this brightly patterned "butterfly" is actually a moth!  Ordinarily, moths are creatures active in the nighttime that have thick, feathered antennae, but the Eight Spotted Forester is the exception to that "rule."  The adults are active in bright daylight and have butterfly-like thin antennae.  They are found in woodland edges in the eastern half of the United States.  It's always so exciting to come across something new and different outdoors!