I was checking the plants in the sandhill area over the weekend when I saw something fly in the tangle of exotic vegetation that surrounds the preserve's endangered habitat.
It was a small moth, but what kind.
I got a brief look at saw that it was one of a group of moths with a tufted-looking tail (anal tufts to you lepidopterists out there) , a Melonworm Moth (Diaphania hyalinata).
This common species is found in squash and melon patches, which is why it was thriving in a tangle of Momordica, an exotic vine that produces squash-like fruit.
New species to the invert list, by the way. .
