Nola minna

The small furry caterpillar might be mistaken for a young arctiid caterpillar, but it remains small when full grown. It has just three pairs of mid-abdominal prolegs. It feeds on alder. It pupates in a small cocoon on the side of a twig. I do not have a photograph of the cocoon, but it would have been of little avail if I had, for it is all but invisible! It is attached to the side of a twig, and, if were seen at all, it would be mistaken for a small bud. The adult moth is no larger than many of the moths known as "micros", such as some of the tortricids or pyralids. Some of the wing scales stand up perpendicularly to the wing surface. This genus is included here in the noctuid subfamily Nolinae, although some authors elevate the group to full family status, Nolidae.