First winter moth, home

A couple of evenings after the guests departed, usually via the kitchen porch door, I walked outside to listen for Barred Owls and spotted something very different: cedar shingles full of Winter Moths. I'd been expecting the invaders, which made the jump from Europe via Nova Scotia in the 1930s before arriving here a couple of decades later. Under normal circumstances, Operophtera brumata would be considered something of a miracle species, since the delicate looking lepidopteran is endowed with the ability to laugh at the cold and fly on nights when the temperature is several degrees below freezing. In fact, it was in the upper 20s when I took this picture and there were at least several dozen male moths encamped by the porch lights. In short order, they'll head into the darkness in search of the flightless females, mate, and lay eggs. As soon as the weather warms in April, the young will hatch and those inchworms will wreak havoc on spring leaves. No wonder the appearance of these remarkably hardy adults is greeted with something less than enthusiasm.