geometrid moth
probably Stenoporpia pulmonaria

geometrid moth

Nepytia lagunata (or possibly N. umbrosaria)

green pug moth
Pasiphila rectangulata

This will be the last moth post for a while. I was still homebound at this point (photos taken on 05/13/11) and was starting to get bored, so I took pictures of some moths in our stairwell. Once again, Chris Grinter of The Skeptical Moth gave me his best guesses for the first two moths from e-mailed photos. I think he was correct with the Stenoporpia sp., although he expressed some uncertainty. This is not a typical moth found in our stairwell and did not move from its spot on the wall for at least 3 days... that is, until I poked it to make sure it was still alive - it promptly fluttered around and found a new spot to rest. For the second photo, Chris wasn't as sure as to which of the two Nepytia spp., because both are known from the Central Coast of CA and are very similar. I picked N. lagunata as more likely due to the way it rests it wings compared to N. umbrosaria. It's extremely common in our stairwell for the past month. As for the last photo, if anyone can help me ID this geometrid, please comment. I lightened the pictures a little, because with no flash they were a little dark. However, I did not aline or rotate the photos, since I suspect many moth species have a tendency to rest in a particular direction on a vertical surface.

ps - I originally posted the last picture as an unidentified geometrid moth. Thanks to Jennifer's comment below, I think we have a positive ID. Click on the embedded links in the common and scientific names for more pictures and information.