Horned Spanworm (7010)

Nematocampa resistaria

Family Geometridae, subfamily Ennominae
Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

11 June 2012

Green Creek

CMMP block S07
Distribution map

Last night, some Cape May County nature nuts interested in moths gathered for our first moth party of what will, hopefully, become a regular feature. Tiffany Kersten and Sam Galick hosted it at Steve Bauer's house and we had a grand old time. Tiffany painted a couple of trees (one American Holly, one Pitch Pine) with the usual moth-attracting mixture of over-ripe bananas, brown sugar, and beer, and I set up my black light and sheet on the lee side of the house and waited for our nocturnal lepidopteran friends to arrive. So far, we have worked out the identifications of 32 species of moths, and we still have a lot of photographed moths to ID.

One of the highlights was the above Horned Spanworm, one of the many moth species named for its caterpillar, thus providing me with another opportunity to rant about common names. Some, like our spanworm here, do not have the word "moth" included, while others do -- most inconsistent! Additionally, since they are moths, it seems redundant to insert the word "moth" into any particular species' name. That habit is akin to calling Northern Cardinals "Northern Cardinal Birds." Yes, we understand, it's a bird. Granted, moths are nowhere near as well known as are birds, but I do not believe that should play a part in English nomenclature.

The Horned Spanworm is one of the many local species of the Geometridae, another name derived from the caterpillars, which are often known as "inchworms." While the Geometridae, like most moth families, is varied, a large percentage hold their wings out straight and flat (like many butterflies) when perched. Since very few other moths exhibit this posture, one can start with this family whenever one encounters an unknown moth perched with its wings out like this.