Holding out for a really good 99

[urbpan]

This moth was attracted to the porch light, then slipped past the threshold to the kitchen wall. I caught it up and chucked it outside.

The chances are really good that this is the "dingy cutworm moth," an unkind name for a lovely little animal. The larva is distinguished from its close relatives by being darker and less well-patterned, thus "dingy." The adult looks enough like its close relatives that even the entomosnobs at bugguide declare "Species identification a bit difficult."

There are four lookalikes that are possible visitors to my yard, including the awesomely named "subgothic dart." Alas, I'll let this one go by as Feltia sp., unidentified dart moth, and wait for something to knock my socks off (or at least have a firmer identification) for the penultimate species in my 100 species project.
EDITED TO ADD: I should hold out for a better picture, too. Yeesh.

(Cutworms are caterpillars that eat young plants, cutting them at the soil level, like this one.)

Comments

[iheartoothecae.livejournal.com]

Subgothic dart? That must have been what I was shot with just before I started wearing all black in high school.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

A++++