October 3, 2025

I am probably a Virginian Tiger Moth

My color varies so I'm not 100% sure

The season, location and hair length are right

I'll be positive who I am when I mature. 

(Moths are easier to identify than caterpillars.)

Location: John C. Campbell Folk School

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/498

Photo and text © 2025 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

September 30, 2024

I am a Virginian Tiger moth

I've got one long hair in the middle of each tuft

I can defoliate crops in late summer

And I'm cute and soft and furry to the touch. 

Location: Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/60839-Spilosoma-virginica

https://bugguide.net/node/view/498

Photo and text © 2024 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.