Moth ID please
Hi Bug man.
My 7 year old son turned me on to your site. I’ve been a bug collector all my life and it seems he’s following in my footsteps. I travel quite a bit and am required to pack a net. "Dad, you’ve got a net, right?" Last month I was on a fishing trip in Guerro Vincente Mexico. The fishing was on the slow side so I started checking some lights in and around the village. I found plenty of Satellite Sphinxes and some that appeared to be Carolina Sphinx. This one however has me stumped. It came to a light late at night at laundro mat. It is 5 3/8" in wing span. Any ideas? Also, I missed a larger moth that had "Atlas" type upper wings and was as flighty as a Black Witch. I’m still bummed. Thanks a million for teaching Josef so much in this field. Keep up the good work. I noticed your site doesn’t have: Elm, Waved, Abbots, Wild Cherry, Ash, Pandora, Laurel, Blind Eye, Cersey’s andTwin Spotted Sphinxes. ‘Want’ em?
Tim Borski
Hi Tim,
We quickly located your beautiful moth, Dysdaemonia boreas, on the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site, an amazing private access website with a membership. Dysdaemonia boreas is found in much of Mexico, Central America and South America. We located another image on a public access website, the Moths of Belize. We are going to copy Bill Oehlke on our reply as he may want your location information to add to his comprehensive sighting data. The other large Saturniid you describe may be one of the Rothschildia species. Regarding the missing Sphinx Moths you mentioned, we currently have 7 Sphinx Moth pages, and some of the species you mention are represented on our site. If you find any totally lacking, or underrepresented, please send us photos and data, like time of year, location, and anecdotal information our readership may find amusing.
¶ Posted 28 August 2008 § ‡ ° Promethea, Luna and Imperial Moths
Hope I have the right IDs on these 3 moths. My name is Barbara Edwards and I live in Macon, Ga. The Imperial Moth was taken 2 days ago and the Promethea and Luna was taken last year.
Hi Barbara,
While the Luna and Imperial Moths are correctly identified, the moth you believe to be a Promethea Moth is actually another moth in the same genus, the Tulip Tree Silk Moth, Callosamia angulifera. Your specimen is a female.
¶ Posted 19 August 2008 § ‡ ° Mating Lunas
I Live in Northwest Arkansas and these mating Luna moths were on my deck this morning thought you might want to add to your collection.
Tony Powell
Hi Tony,
The progeny of these mating Luna Moths will pass the winter as pupae and emerge in the spring.
Silkmoth
Here are a couple of pictures; I didn’t realize there were so many silkmoths that looked alike and wondered which it was. At first I thought is was Ceanothus, then I saw Cecropia, then Glover’s. I am near Prescott, Arizona. Barnes and Noble did not have a book on strictly Moths or Silkmoths. Is there a book availaable? Thanks,
Jane Shrum
Hi Jane,
This is Glover’s Silk Moth, Hyalophora columbia gloveri, which ranges in the Southwest. We always like Holland’s Moth Book. Your image appears to have been altered in Photoshop. Giant Silk Moths do not feed as adults, and are not inclined to visit blossoms. Additionally, there seems to be a bit of unusual layering on the left upper wing where the blossoms appear through the wing.
Thank you for identifying the photos I sent you on 8/11/08 as Glover’s and for the information about Holland’s Moth Book. I am attaching several other photos that should show that it was not altered in Photoshop. The wings appear to be damaged on both upper left and upper right wings and that is where the blossoms showed in the photo I sent.
Hi again Jane,
Thanks for dispelling our silly suspicion.
¶ Posted 11 August 2008 § ‡ ° Big Yellow Moth… I think! Loc: Slovenia
Hi WTB
I found this unfortunate guy while in Slovenia recently. I say unfortunate because he landed in the grass near to me and was flapping around, obviously in distress. When I looked closer it appears he must have been attacked by a bird or something because he was missing a front antenna and a front leg. I thought to leave him there in the hope that a bit of rest in the sun would help, but I then noticed he was about to be swarmed by an army of giant ants! So… I (very gently) scooped him up and put him somewhere safe with some muddy puddle water. Unfortunately though, when I returned later, he had curled up his tootsies and shuffled off this mortal coil etc. etc.. So, I now have this poor creature and I still don’t even know what he is! I am torn between hoping he is rare (for the joy of finding something rare), but then again hoping he is not (because then it would be an even bigger shame that he didn’t make it! Please help give him a name! I have looked through every Butterfly and Moth page on your site but can’t find him anywhere. I have put him on a CD to give you an idea of his size. I’ve only ever seen anything this big in butterfly houses, never in the wild! Thank you very much
Scott Holmes
from North Wales, UK.
Hi Scott,
Thanks for writing your touching story of the unforgiving ways of the natural world. Your moth is Antheraea yamamai, a Japanese species introduced to Europe.
¶ Posted 11 August 2008 § ‡ ° I’m stumped! What’s this bug?!
Hi Bugman!
Thanks for such a fab site! I took these pictures of a beautiful moth yesterday in my backyard in Decatur, GA. It fluttered away shortly thereafter. I initially thought it might be a Cecropia Moth, but some of its markings are inconsistent with the pictures I’ve looked at: it is lacking the vivid body color, for example, and the white crescent shapes on the wings seem too small. I’ve poured over all your moth pictures and those on some other sites, but am still stumped! Can you help? Many, many thanks…keep doing what you do!
Tracy D. James
Decatur, GA
Hi Tracy,
This is a Tuliptree Silkmoth, Callosamia angulifera, and it the second example we have received today. The first was from Virginia.
¶ Posted 08 August 2008 § ‡ ° Saturnid Rothscgilidia
Hi Bugman
I recently followed the life cycle of a moth in the wild in Queretaro, Mexico.120 miles north of Mexico City. Two cacoons hatched 4 weeks ago and I captured them mating. I am attaching photos. I was intrigued by the comments on the Saturnid Rothschilidia reported from Brazil then challenged. Judging from my photos I seem to have an almost identical example from semitropical central Mexico. What do you think?
Clint
Hi Clint,
We have just logged onto the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site for the first time in an attempt to properly identify your mating Rothschildia species, and we must say an accurate identification is beyond our means. Hazarding a guess, we will take a stab at Rothschildia lebeau aroma. Perhaps Bill Oehlke will come to our rescue.
Daniel,
It is Rothschildia cincta guerreronis, sometimes elevated to Rothschildia guerreronis. Note strong presence of white scaling on forewing, just inside the marginal area, also some white scaling on hindwing in corresponding area. Many of the Rothschildia are very hard to id. … Thanks for sending images. Very nice.
Bill Oehlke
¶ Posted 04 August 2008 § ‡ ° Tagged: bug love Dear Bugman,
Thanks so much for identifying the Pearly Wood Nymph for me. I received your email this morning to my great surprise. Boy you are fast. I thought it might be the Pearly from you page but didn’t know for sure. Thought you might be interested see a Royal Walnut Moth that laid her eggs on the siding of my front porch almost two weeks ago. She had lots of babies but I don’t know about the survival rate. We saw a lot of dead babies and didn’t know if it was because she didn’t lay them on a host plant that they could start eating. Not two days after all the eggs had finished hatching I had a Small Eyed Sphinx. Such velvet wings. My bug friend identified it from my pictures. Thanks again,
Peggy Scott
Hi Peggy,
Because of time constraints, we are unable to post all of the marvelous submissions that come our way. Many letters we don’t even have time to read. We are thrilled to posty your photos of a Royal Walnut Moth laying eggs and the resulting hatching of Hickory Horned Devils.
¶ Posted 04 August 2008 § ‡ ° 
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