My favorite crayon when I was small, was 'Burnt Sienna' which is why I was drawn to this bug on my backdoor screen last summer. He/she stayed until I ran inside to get my camera, and then for hours while I took photos of it. You can see how tiny it was by the squares of the screen behind it. I didn't notice the barbs on it's legs until I had it up on the computer, and was happy with my decision NOT to pick it off and let it crawl on my palm. But what was it? There is a wonderful website: whatsthisbug.com where you can look through their files or send in a photo, and within a day, you will know what you've got (or had). This, I found out yesterday, is a Himmelman's Plume Moth in the family Pterophoridae. Geina tenuidactyla. The barbs I have learned are NOT harmful. Still, I was pleased I'd let it be.
