Small magpie moth, a visitor from the UK.

Pyralid, Anania hortulata

 After photographing a species, I like to know what it is.  This one stumped me; all the searching I did on the internet and books were to no avail.  After spending hours (yes, hours - I know, I have no life) trying to figure it out, I sent the photo and a request to Karen Needham who is the curator of the Spencer Entomological Collection at UBC.  She didn't know what it was either, but she passed it onto some of her colleagues who solved the mystery.

It turns out that the moth is a pyralid which is also called a snout or grass moth.  There are about 6000 species, some of which are serious pests.  The larvae of this one feed on nettles, mint, and something called bindweed.  It does not present a problem to us in North America.

They have been showing up in patches throughout southern Canada for at least the last 20 years; I photographed the one above in Nanaimo in 2016.  They also occur in a number of States.  

It seems that the longer we travel and pursue commerce throughout the world, the more exotic species will come our way and become established.  This one, at least, isn't a pest the way so many other introduced species are.  And, in fact, I think its kind of pretty.  Sort of.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com  

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