NMW: Chestnut-marked Pondweed Moth

It's National Moth Week, and while Urban Dragon Hunters is primarily about dragonflies, we are keen on many other insect taxa as well. Why not try to feature a cool moth every day this week?

Day 4's little beauty is a Chestnut-marked Pondweed Moth (Parapoynx badiusalis, Hodges #4761). In addition to being pretty, the larvae of this moth have an unusual lifestyle -- they are aquatic. They feed on pondweed (Potamogeton). You can read more about them (and see this photo again!) in a blog post I recently wrote for Audubon Guides, "The Moth that Came from the River."

Photo by Julie Craves. All rights reserved.