Family Saturniidae
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Luna Moth
I found this moth on my deck last week-end(4-5-08) south of Shreveport,La…Found your site to learn what type this was…Thought I would write and send in the picture I took of it…Thanks
Darrell
Hi Darrel,
Your photo of a Luna Moth is quite beautiful. We are getting many excellent Luna Moth photos this year and are changing the image on our homepage several times a week.
Morthra?
Saw this on a home inspection in Arizona. Wingspan was between 4 and 6 inches. Hoping you could help me figure it out. Thanks!
Tom
Hi Tom,
Your moth is Hyalophora columbia, but we are not sure if it is the Columbia Silk Moth, or its subspecies, Glover’s Silk Moth.
Luna Moth
Hi my name is Kacie.
I am in Tennessee and I found this bug on my window. I found out what it was thanks to you guys.
Hi Kacie,
Your Luna Moth from Tennessee is our northernmost report this year.
So large they took me by surprise!
Hello BugMan-
I was working in my yard (NE Florida, Jacksonville area) yesterday and took a break to sit under the oak tree and saw these HUGE moths! I didn’t know what they were at first, so I took some pictures of them. My kids thought they were so cool, and they were very velvety soft (see closeup picture), so we are browsing your wonderful site trying to find out what they might be. I am trying to teach the kids that not all bugs are bad or dangerous. I’m highly allergic to bees, wasps, etc., and that in order to know what is what we have to learn about all bugs, and that some bugs are REALLY cool! (We’ve seen some praying mantis that are fun to watch.) At first I thought these were Sphinx moths, but their eyes and antennae are not as readily visible as most of the other photos you show. In fact, I couldn’t see any eyes! Also, they were resting with wings more perpendicular than parallel to the tree. I didn’t think to put a measuring tape near them for size, but the light bulb you see is a standard mini Christmas tree bulb, so maybe that will give a good enough reference point. Can you identify them, please? And you have my permission to post the pictures here, or at any friend’s site.
Thanks in advance-
KC
Hi KC,
What a great photo of Pine Devil Moths, Citheronia sepulcralis. The smaller moth is the male.
Luna Moth in San Marcos, Texas
I found this moth in my friends apartment complex parking garage. about the size of my hand, maybe a little smaller. thought you might want to add it to the collection
Hi Clint,
Thanks for sending your great photo. Over the next few months, we will be expecting the sightings to move further north as spring hits the northeast and New England.
amazing butterly/moth in SF
Hi~
We live in San Francisco, CA, and found this Butterfly/Moth had laid it’s eggs on the side of our building. Do you have any idea what it is? It’s body was approximately 4 inches in length, wingspan when outstretched approximately 6-7 inches. It was huge and gorgeous. Please see attached photos. Thanks for your help!
Josephine and Chris Tobin
Hi Josephine and Chris,
We suspect that someone is playing an April Fool’s Day joke on you or that you are playing one on us. The Cecropia Moth is a species found east of the Rocky Mountains. Since pupae are readily available, this could be an escapee from a neighbor that raises Giant Silk Moths. We seriously doubt it could have strayed into your area on its own. Did you see the unicorn on the Golden Gate Bridge?
hi daniel~
my husband chris and i are amazed—-this is NO joke—–maybe an escapee, but definitely not a hoax. my son and i were retrieving our trash bins outside of our house on tuesday morning and he was the one who spotted it first! it sat perched on our front steps for almost 6 hours or so, and in fact dropped five eggs (which you might have seen in the photo, too), which are still there (but don’t seem to be growing). we watched it for a long time….it was moving, opening and closing it’s wings, moving it’s position by a few inches, and ultimately, flew away. we want to know if there’s anything we can do to save the eggs. believe me, lots of people stopped on the sidewalk in disbelief—–it was giant and exquisitely beautiful. i can send more pics if you want—-but it is just nice to know what it was. thanks for your help—and no, i didn’t see the unicorn:) best,
josephine
Thanks for the update Josephine. We believe this must be an escapee then. The eggs might be fertile if she encountered a male moth before taking flight, but adult female Saturnids are full of eggs and will lay infertile eggs if they don’t mate.
Luna Moth
Hello Bugman,
Thank you for your wonderful website. I found a match for identifying a moth that my sister and nephews found in their backyard in Norman, Oklahoma. Sincerely,
Penny Andrews
Hi Penny,
Thank you for adding to our collection of beautiful Luna Moth images.
Luna Moth
Hi, I was so glad to find your site as I was searching to find out what this beautiful (what I thought was a butterfly) in my front yard was. I was just out raking leaves and caught sight of this moth jumping. I called my children to see it and we all stared in wonder! After running into the house to get my camera, I took a few pictures to be able to examine it further. It has the shape almost of a sting-ray and it is so beautifully painted. I’m not much of a bug person, but love to find something I’ve never seen before! As a homeschooler of 3 children, your site will definitely be a source of information from now on for us!! Thank you! Sincerely,
Stephanie
Tallahassee, Florida
Hi Stephanie,
Your photograph of a Luna Moth is quite beautiful. The lighting is awesome.
Almost a fairy?
Hi bugman,
Found your site whilst trying to identify this magnificent moth(?) which we pictured in our sunlounge in Orlando Florida. It must have been about 6 inches long and looked just like a fairy. You can even make out a kind of human face if you look closely! We have never seen one before or since. Could you please tell me what it is? Many thanks.
Roy
Hi Roy,
We received our first Luna Moth photo of the year on March 5 and it is still on our homepage. Also typing in a description on our search engine should have led you to the proper answer. We really like your letter because of the fairy moth description, and we hope it will help others properly identify their first Luna Moth.
Polly Polyphemus Poses for Proper Portrait
What’s That Bug is the coolest site I’ve found this year! Nice work! After perusing your many great photos I find your contributors seldom get the lepidoptera to sit for proper portraits. Fortunately I have on hand many stunning portraits of Polly, the polyphemus moth who brightened our Michigan winter. Check the story on
http://detroitsubway.com/images/polyphemus/PolyphemusMoth.html
She emerged by surprise in January from a larva collected on our front lawn last August. For two weeks she graced our household, clinging passively to our tamarind tree by day and raising hell by night, laying eggs on our windowsills and draperies. I think she’s a stunning specimen, spanning over 6" as you can see in one shot on the website.
Karl
Sterling Heights, MI
Hi Karl,
Thanks for your fascinating story. I hope our readership doesn’t crash your website with all the traffic. Your portrait of Polly reminds us of a Rembrandt painting.
Cecropia Moth
Hello. I found this beauty in Rockne, Texas, just outside of Austin, on Easter Sunday. We were all amazed at the soft fur like feel on the body of the cecropia moth. Thanks for having such a great site, I look all the time but this was the first real good picture I was able to get, and had to share.
Whitney K
Hi Whitney,
Thanks so much for sending your awesome photo. We have gotten images of four different Giant Silk Moths in the past two days and we are struggling to get them all posted online..
moth?
bugman,
I love your site. hey, I found this moth outside my office today. amazing. I only have video of it at this point, I can send a pic of you’d like, but I have been hunting for what it might be and can’t find a picture online. looks like it might be a type of tiger moth, very pretty. I thought it was dying because it really wasn’t moving too much but then I thought perhaps it was a night insect. I scooped it up and took it home. If it died, I was going to preserve it in a frame. It was a glorious site to see it take flight and fly away just after dark. amazing, me and my kids chased it through the yard. I was very proud of my 10 years old daughter. my son (5) asked why we couldn’t keep it and she told him that is wasn’t ours to keep. almost brought a tear to my eye. anyhow, here’s a great little video of it. Perhaps you know exactly what this one is. thanks
Todd
I found the moth, it’s a Cecropia Moth. I am the guy who sent you the video, here’s a pic
Hi Todd,
We are happy to hear you correctly identified your Cecropia Moth.
