Marty’s photo of the day #3676: This is a sweetheart underwing. Over the weekend, this moth was stuck in my garage before I convinced it to fly out the door. Then, last night, it showed up again. Sweetheart underwings are a type of sphinx moth, and, apparently, this particular species is rare in Montana. After I photographed it, I looked it up on two different websites. According to the field guide at MT.gov, there has been only one other sighting in Montana, and that was in 2015. So later today, I plan to go to MT.gov and report a second sighting.
Why is it that cool insects always seem so rare, and the obnoxious ones, like yellow jackets, mosquitos, and anti-vaxxers always seem so plentiful?