Pale phantoms

And suddenly, just this week, there are ghosts everywhere in the forests, flitting from one shadow to the next.

Phantom Hemlock Looper Moth, Nepytia phantasmaria, ♂*

White phantoms with embroidered cloaks and yellow hats. We saw them in Gold River, at Elk Falls, in the small forest at Oyster Bay, always in the shade, or in the semi-dusk of the early evening.

Habitat
coniferous forests; adults are nocturnal and come to light
(BugGuide)

They're night flyers, but we saw them during the day; dark days, overcast and grey; and in the deep shade under the Douglas firs.

At Oyster Bay, 8:05 PM, just after sunset.

They will lay their eggs on the underside of evergreen needles; the larvae will emerge in the spring to eat those needles.

They're a "looper" moth; the larvae will be inchworms.

*You can tell these are males: if you look closely, you can see that the antennae are feathered.