Beautiful Wood Nymph (aka Bird Poop Moth)
Looking an awful lot like a splat of bird poop, I saw one of these strange moths at Jefferson Memorial Forest last week. I typed “bird poop moth” into Google and, sure enough, there it was. More appropriately named the Beautiful Wood Nymph (Eudryas grata).
I didn’t find much information online about it. The larvae like button bush, pepper vine, grapes, hops, and Virginia creeper. It’s common in the Eastern United States from Maine to Florida and west to Texas. There is also a similar looking Pearly Wood Nymph (Eudryas unio). The Beautiful Wood Nymph has a olive line between the brown and white parts of the wing, while the Pearly lacks that; instead having a scalloped border. At least, that’s what I read. I haven’t seen the two in the field to make my own comparison.
The fuzzy things sticking out in front of him are the front legs rather than antennae.
What a strange and beautiful world.