Xylena curvimacula

Xylena curvimacula playing dead after I touched it.

comments (13)

Christine Young

Lion

"Playing dead" - neat! Posted 6 years ago
1. Gary B
  
  Lion
  
  Made it much easier to photograph, though. I've seen a few other moths do the same notably Agonopterix spp. Posted 6 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    Lol, very cool! Posted 6 years ago
  2. 1. Gary B
      
      Lion
      
      How is your mothing going so far? Here there are nights when nothing shows up. When there are moths it is often just one or two species and usually just one individual. Last night in spite of the mild conditions nothing showed up. Posted 6 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        It's been pretty slow - I've been seeing mostly mosquitoes. I usually see at least one moth though. Sometimes a few. But, I haven't been mothing every night. I am hoping it picks up with the higher humidity coming over the next few days. Posted 6 years ago
      2. Gary B
        
        Lion
        
        I'm hoping the same but the forecast for next week is mostly in the 50s and 60s. Maybe by June it will get warmer? I've only seen one mosquito which is weird since this is definitely mosquito country. Posted 6 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        That is weird, especially considering mosquitoes are the unofficial state bird of Minnesota ;P. There's a wetland in back of my house, so it's perfect for mosquitoes. You got plenty of snow over the winter, right? Around here, once temps are consistently in the 50's, we start seeing them. But, populations don't get too high until it warms up a bit more. Temps have been mostly in the 70's during the days here, and the mosquitoes are loving it. Posted 6 years ago
        
        Gary B
        
        Lion
        
        Back from the woods yesterday in northern MN and no mosquitoes there either just black flies and not too many (yet). We should have been seeing mosquitoes a month ago if the weather was normal which it hasn't been. But looks like real warm weather in store so I expect to be seeing them soon. The little ponds in the woods were full of larvae. Posted 6 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Thankfully, the mosquitoes I've seen so far this spring aren't human biters. But, I know it won't be long until those emerge as well. I can't complain though because it's mild here compared to what you must experience. The biting midges have just started to become a minor nuisance over the past few days. Posted 6 years ago
        
        Gary B
        
        Lion
        
        Killed my second mosquito today. The first one was last night. It's hard to describe how thick they can get in the woods here. Plus the black flies and deer flies (not out yet) all make for some terrible conditions as the summer progresses. I once read an account by one of the government surveyors who worked in Wisconsin back in the 1850s to 1860s and he described the months of May to September as the "fly season". A good description I'd say. Posted 6 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        I've never experienced conditions like that. I trapped mosquitoes in national/state parks along the east coast in grad school, and I remember the mosquitoes on Fire Island being the worst I've ever seen. I had many unpleasant encounters with black flies while working at summer camps in Maine. Ugh, but around here, the deer flies drive me insane in the summer. They are the dumbest, most annoying, barbaric flies. Basically though, I don't like any biting flies, lol. Posted 6 years ago, modified 6 years ago
        
        Gary B
        
        Lion
        
        I agree with you on the deer flies! They seem to be on every trail and path and just won't quit! Maine's flies sound a lot like Minnesota's. One day many years ago up by Devil Track Lake I got more than 50 black fly bites on my face, neck, and hands. Posted 6 years ago

Christine Young

Lion

Yeah, the deer flies are persistent, bouncing off heads, and never giving up!

50+ bites is a nightmare! That must have felt horrible! Posted 6 years ago

The Swordgrass moth

''Xylena curvimacula'', known generally as the swordgrass moth or dot-and-dash swordgrass moth, is a species of cutworm or dart moth in the family Noctuidae. It is found in North America.

The MONA or Hodges number for ''Xylena curvimacula'' is 9874.

Info 3 0

Similar species: Moths And Butterflies

Species identified by Gary B