ID Explainer: Bruce spanworms and Autumnal Moth

Separating four (plus one!) lookalike fall fliers

Before I dive into today’s ID Explainer, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who’s subscribed to Feralia so far! I am incredibly grateful for the interest and support. I hope you enjoy following along.

I thought I’d kick off the ID Explainer series with a timely group of species. For many of us here in the north, these are just about the only moths we’re likely to encounter at this time of year. (Although I did actually have an oddball Dark-spotted Palthis hanging out on the living room wall this week - no idea where she came from, as it’s been below freezing outside the past week.)

I’m referring, of course, to the moths of the genus Operophtera. This includes the bruce spanworms, and the aptly named Winter Moth. In North America, members of this genus are associated with wooded habitats, primarily in the northeast, across Canada through the boreal, and south in the west through the coastal and interior mountain ranges.