Any butterfliy buffs reading tonight? There was a butterfly I later
learned to calll a "Wood Satyr" that was common in Corvallis in the early
60s. I've found species on line that look about right, although paler than
the Oregon ones. All are confined to the eastern part of our continent. So
what's the Oregon Megisto called? The Wikipedia entry says the eastern ones
are hard to capture. That was very much my experience with the Corvallis
wood satyrs. I don't think i ever did catch one. I remember 50 plus years
later because I tried so hard.
Trying to get back to birds, there's the "tobacco bird". A colloquial
name for the Ceanothus silk moth (Hyalophora euryalis) which we have here
in western Oregon. It is distinct from the Cecropia moth (H. cedropia)
widespread east of the Rockies. Both qualify as America's biggest moth, up
to six inch wing span. And the Oregon species' larvæ feed on many species
besides Ceanothus, but probably not tobacco.
Lars
