Nature Note:Moth Resembles Tree Bark

I noted a triangular moth resting on the sliding screen door of my home.Taking a closer look,I observed it was beautifully camouflaged as gray tree bark.It was an epione underwing,a forest moth that ranges from Quebec west to Minnesota and south to Florida,Texas and Oklahoma.When startled,the epione underwing drops to the ground.
The adults are abroad from August to September,having emerged from pupae in leaf litter.The eggs are laid on tree trunks in the early autumn and then hatch in the spring.The epione underwing caterpillars favor the leaves of shagbark hickory trees.
There is probably one generation of this moth a year.It was first described by the British entomologist Dru Drury in 1773.Drury lived from 1725-1803 in London.His collection had at least 11,000 species.The son of a prosperous goldsmith,three species were named in his honor by fellow entomologists.