Family Saturniidae
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Pretty Pink Moth?
A friend took this pic of a prettily pink moth??? She doesn’t know what it is and my curiosity has been peaked. I googled til my fingers bled but no luck finding another similarly-hued "bug". Please help. BTW I am in love with your site. Thanks,
Fully Flummoxed in Ft. Meade
Dear Flummoxed No More,
Recently we got a Rosy Maple Moth, Dryocampa rubicunda, query that described this pretty Saturnid Moth as looking like sherbet. Somehow we lost that letter.
Luna Moth
My son took this picture of a Luna Moth while he was filling out his wings. It is special because of the detail and color of it’s furry body and legs. We have others and I can re-size it for your website, but thought you’d appreciate the full detail. Note also his antennae detail. Marc
Hi Marc,
Your Luna Moth headshot is a welcome addition to our site. It is a view that we have not yet seen.
What is that bug?
I hiked up in San Jacinto mtns (above Palm Springs) and saw this bug. It looks like caterpiller that never completly changed into butterfly… Do you know what it is?
Thanks!
Ziv
Hi Ziv,
You are correct in assuming this moth is still undergoing metamorphosis. When they emerge from the pupa or cocoon, moths and butterflies have small, soft useless wings that need to expand with fluids in the veing and then dry and harden before they are usable for flight. This is a newly emerged moth. Your Silm Moth species did not look familiar, so we wrote to Eric Eaton. Here is his response: “Newly-emerged is right! Reminds me of a pandora moth, which is a type of giant silk moth. Can’t offer any alternatives. Eric “
moth with eyes
I had been taking pictures of various insects all day. I got home and found this moth on my front porch step. Is this Mothra?…the species that battled Godzilla? Thanks,
Curtis Dunlap
Hi Curtis,
We can’t imagine what you would think if you saw a big Saturnid Moth like a Polyphemus or Cecropia. This is a female Io Moth, one of the smaller Saturnids.
Citheronia regalis
My name is Kristine and I am from Columbia, Maryland. I found this moth right outside of my door a few weeks ago. I looked at the pictures of moths on your website and happend upon one submitted by a Jeremy in Columbia as well. It also happend to be the same species of Moth that I saw. I thought it was funny and I wondered if he lives somewhere in my apartment complex. Anyway here is the pic! Thanks!
Kristine
Hi Kristine,
While we have no way of knowing if you and Jeremy live in the same apartment complex, we can assure you that insects have intricate biological clocks to assure they will be able to successfully mate and reproduce. Mature individuals in the same vicinity will emerge with startling simultaneity, and this is especially critical with Saturnid Moths like the Regal Moth which only lives a few days as an adult.
Ghost Moth
Hello Bugman,
I wish I could say I was a bug girl, but I just can’t figure out what this peculiar bug is. I am assuming it is a moth, but am unsure of what type. We have seen a few of these in the past 2 years and a couple of “hummingbird moths”. The hummingbird moths tend to catch me off guard and I do scream quite loud (tend to be about three fourths (3/4) the size of a dollar bill.) I reside in Maryland ( Ellicott City area), and have been stumbling upon a lot of strange critters. I hope you can help, and if so I may have another picture to send you. It is of a black caterpillar with gray/white fur all over it. Reminds me a bit of a baby chimpanzees finger(s) with medium white hair all over it. We found about 200 + on our patio when we came home from work 4 days ago (28 July 05). I gathered them up in a few cans freaking out because they were trying to borrow in the ground and my dog’s fury bed. I have 3 caterpillars in a jar with dirt now. As soon as I put them in there they played possum for about a minute, and then immediately dug into the soil. One of them actually has his back facing one side of the jar. I see him wiggle around every once in a while. I will truly try and get a picture for you. I am very curious to see what they become. I have yet to find any info on the net that I feel is a definitive answer to what we were/are dealing with. All I can say is that the closest characteristics out there (personality and looks) is the Walnut Caterpillar. I am not sure if they would be in Maryland though. Hope you have some insight to my many curious questions, and I will keep you posted on my little science project in a jar. Thanks so much and I look forward to hearing from you soon,
Rhiannon
Hi Rhiannon,
Your mystery moth is a Luna Moth and it can currently be seen starring in a television commercial for a sleep aid called Lunesta. We look forward to hearing more about your caterpillars when they develop.
Imperial moth
On Friday, July 29, we were visited by two male Imperial moths (I know this because of your loevly site!). Our friend Yi-Ren Tzeng got some nice pictures of one of them, which I am sending to you.
Nina Liakos
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Hi Nina,
We are so very thrilled when people actually use our site to try to identify their critters before writing to us. We are so glad we were helpful.
Orange Striped Oak Moth
Hey bugman, A few weeks ago, I e-mailed you about some moths that were all over my building at work in Riverhead, NY. Our tree company identified them for us, but you do not have a picture of them on your website. Here is a picture of the Orange Striped Oak Moth. Maybe you can put it on your site for others to see. Thanks for your time.
Mike D
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the letter and photo. We also located a link that talks about how this moth appears in great numbers. The Orange Striped Oak Moth, Anisota senatoria, is a close relative of the Virginian which we do have images of.
Moth?
This beautiful moth, about 1.5 inches long, has been on my screen door all morning. I’m afraid to disturb it before I learn what it is. I live in NE Alabama and we have wonderful bugs here! I love your website. Thanks!
Martha
Hi Martha,
We believe this to be The Virginian, Anisota virginiensis. You did a pretty good job with BugGuide.
Moth found in parking lot in Northern NJ
Can you tell us about this moth we found in a parking lot in Northern NJ?
It was huge.
Open & Jim Banks
Hi again Open and Jim,
This is a Polyphemus Moth, one of the Giant Silkworm or Saturnid Moths. It was named after Polyphemus, the Cyclops from Greek mythology because of the eyespots. Funny the moth has two eyespots and the Cyclops only had one eye. Go figure.
Oh my, what is it!?!?!
Hi Bugman!
I came home earlier this evening and found "this thing" hanging out on the sliding screen door to my balcony. It kind of looks like a butterfly but it doesn’t to have any antennas. I live in Germantown, MD which is approx. 40 miles north of Washington, DC. My balcony faces a small wooded area. Can you tell me what this is that was visiting? Thanks for your assistance!
Julie
Hi Julie
This is a male Imperial Moth. The female has more yellow and less reddish-purple on the forewings. He does have feathery antennae. They are hidden from view. The Imperial Moth, Eacles imperialis, is one of the Saturnid or Giant Silkworm Moths that do not feed as adults.
Moth
Hi! The bottom of this moth is all yellow with red spots and 6 legs. The main colors are obvious. His body was super big about 4 inches. Your site is super informative and i did some research and i cannot identify this moth that i found. any suggestions? thanks again!
stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
We have gotten several photos this year of the Royal Walnut Moth or Regal Moth.
