Yesterday I photographed this half-inch-long moth at Harrison Hills County Park near Natrona Heights.

This morning I tried to identify it at butterfliesandmoths.org using the online photos.  I was able to narrow my list to 20 possibilities out of more than 3,000 moths but none of them were correct when I compared closely.

Changing tactics I used the regional perspective:  Which of my 20 possibilities were on the Allegheny County moth checklist?  The checklist subtracted 10 and added four.  However, my faith in that checklist was shattered when I discovered it’s missing Malacosoma americanum, the eastern tentworm moth, that Tom Pawlesh photographed in Allegheny County and posted on the website.

Nonetheless the checklist gave me a hint.  Perhaps this is one of the owlet moths, Noctuidae.  It looks a bit like the three-spotted sallow moth (Eupsillia tristigmata).  Searching through Noctuidae at BugGuide.net I also found one here.

Can you can tell me what moth this is? Please leave a comment with your answer.

UPDATE 25 July 2015: This moth may be the Dotted Sallow moth (Anathix ralla), a member of the Noctuidae family (owlet moths).

(photo by Kate St. John)

p.s. Fascinating news on Monday Oct 27:  Owlet moths pollinate witch-hazel flowers at night!