Spaelotis bicava moths in house in Bear Valley, Alpine County

Ryan McQuoid found a home that had a large number of big moths inside it.

The moths were identified as Spaelotis bicava by the UC Davis Museum of Entomology.

Ryan recorded a video. That is a lot of big moths in a house!

“This species is a climbing cutworm, and appears to be a generalist feeding on both hardwood shrubs and herbaceous vegetation.  During epidemic outbreaks, larvae are particularly abundant feeding on big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) in the Asteraceae.” Source.

This map shows the distribution of Spaelotis bicava. Source.