Quite the surprise to find these moths on Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). These are Berry Plume Moths (Geina tenuidactyla), a member of the family Pterophoridae. Moths that look to me as if they are from the Mesozoic Era, and coexisted with dinosaurs. But they’re here today along with Monarchs and Tiger Swallowtails.

Tiny winged creatures. A wingspan of approximately 5/8 inch — tiny. Fun checkered or dotted black and white antennae. Thin, odd shaped, fringed wings held perpendicular to the moth’s abdomen, creating the look of a capital T. Skinny legs with thorn-like spines at sharp angles to those legs.

The caterpillars of these moths feed on blackberry and raspberry bushes, and dogbane. Adults eat pollen and nectar.

So very glad I was able to get photographs of these intriguing creatures!

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