Waiting for nightfall!

  Son headed out the front door on his way to get the mail.  This is a nice hike and he usually finds something interesting along the way....more oft than not, a critter such as a baby armadillo or overly friendly rabbit.  The door had barely closed behind him when he was back inside.  Hmmm?  The last time he did that, a snake was sitting on the steps so he decided that I needed to take a picture of it.  (He was not concerned that a Cottonmouth Moccasin had claimed the front steps but rather that I might miss a great photograph.  Yep. we do think alike!)  Anyway, he mumbled something about me getting the camera again this time. Yay!  Photo ops!

  He had not even actually made it out the screen door when he noticed a bit of bright orange laced with black.  "That is an unusual looking moth." he said as he stood pointing at the door.  Yep.  It sure was! Getting a picture of said moth proved  more difficult that it should have been.  The setting sun was in the perfect position to set a glare upon the screen.  With the moth on the inside of the door, the back lit door did not agree with my camera or, perhaps (and more likely), my photography skills.  It took any number of tries before I managed to get a decent picture.  Meanwhile, the moth bid its time just lounging on the screen.  Good moth!  You pose well.  

  Not knowing just what this critter might eat, I hesitated letting it free. What if it was some critter that laid eggs on my squash and the caterpillars were squash-eating varmints?  A jar and card came into play as temporary housing for the insect.  I needed to research this critter!  After positively identifying the moth as a Painted Lichen Moth, I breathed a sigh of relief!  These babies eat lichen!  Well, they also eat algae and moss but they do not eat squash!  With that discovery, the moth was relocated from inside the screen door to a lichen covered tree where it could lay all the eggs it wanted.  The moth had brightened the evening not only with the discovery of an (up-to-now) unknown species (for me, at least!) but also by its beautiful orange, red and black markings.  What a beauty!