I spotted this insect working a dried flower on the Lower Chippewa River State Trail today. I thought it was a moth, but I wasn't certain. I took a picture so I could look it up later.
It was another sunny day in October, but the temperature had dropped to around 50-degrees. I thought it was too cold for butterflies until I spotted two Eastern Commas sunning themselves in the leaf litter.
Not many birds around mid-day, but I did see two Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I heard a surprising number of chip notes coming from the shrubs along the trail... Fox Sparrows, juncos, cardinals and Chipping Sparrows.
I walked a mile then headed back home to figure out the name of my mystery black insect.
Compared to the insects I found last week, this one was easy to figure out: a Yellow-collared Scape Moth - Cisseps fulvicollis.
A day-flying Tiger Moth that resembles a wasp, it's found nectaring on fall flowers, including goldenrods. Adults appear in May and can be spotted into October until the first hard frost.
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