The beauty of moths: moths of Tennessee, USA

Moths: beautiful, colorful, fantastic!

Did you know there are more than 150,000 known species of moths. And scientists think there are many more left to discover. There may be as many as 500,000 moth species in total.

Let’s meet some of the beautiful moths of Tennessee, USA, with the help of expert moth-er and photographer Ken Childs.

Moths of Tennessee, USA:

09286-Harrisimemna_trisignata-Harris'sThree-spot-GT9A4495 copy — Harriss three-spot (Harrisimemna trisignata)

8107-Haploa_clymene-Clymene-GT9A9706 copy — Haploa clymene

07929-Nerice_bidentata-Double-toothedProminent-GT9A6871 copy — Nerice bidentata

07884-Darapsa_versicolor-HydrangeaSphinx-GT9A5299 copy — Darapsa versicolor

07716–Anisota_stigma–SpinyOakwormMoth-GT9A5676 copy — Spiny oakworm moth (Anisota stigma)

07053-Dichorda_iridaria-ShowyEmerald-GT9A9759 copy — Showy emerald (Dichorda iridaria)

05228-Polygrammodes_flavidalis-IronweedRootMoth-GT9A9535 copy — Ironweed root moth (Polygrammodes flavidalis)

05200-Colomychus_talis-DistinguishedColymychus-GT9A1402 copy — Colomychus talis

03751-Thaumatographa_jonesi-PsychedelicJones-GT9A0274 copy — Psychedelic Jones (Thaumatographa jonesi)

01046-Epicallima_argenticinctella-Orange-headedEpicallima-GT9A2560 copy — Epicallima argenticinctella

All images courtesy of Ken Childs, National Moth Week team member.

You can become a moth-er, too!

With so many moths left to discover, maybe you can find a moth species new to science! This Moth Week, join a mothing event and get busy learning about these beautiful insects. Visit nationalmothweek.org for more information.