Family Saturniidae
rss Bright red and yellow moth in FL!
My friend in North FL found this enormous moth in her garden. Neither she nor I can find any identification for this gorgeous creature on the internet. I was hoping you could help!! What on earth is this thing?? It squirted yellow goo at her when she tried to relocate it to a safer part of her yard. Weird and cool moth!
This beauty is a Royal Walnut Moth or Regal Moth, the adult form of the frightening, but harmless Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar.
unknown moth
We found this moth this morning and when we released it outside, it landed on a tree and took this defensive stance. Can you please identify it for us? Thank you. Please reply to lmdavis@swmail.sw.org aSAP. Thanks again.
Linda
Hi Linda,
Your moth is a male Io Moth, Automeris io, one of the Saturnid Moths. Female Io Moths have brown forewings rather than yellow.
???
I’m not sure if this is a bug. This creature was hovering outside of my mom’s window last night. It is about 10-12 inches long. It has a tan head that looks like the head of a bat. The wings and body are green, with a forked tail. It looks like green leaf lettuce. She said that it flew like a hummingbird, with it’s wings moving so rapidly it appeared to hover. I have more pictures if needed, but this is the clearest picture because it was really dark outside. It was clearly attracted to the light. She said that when she turned the light out, it immediately appeared outside another window where the light was on.
We wish you had provided a location for your Luna Moth. We expect to be getting sightings from as far north as Maine and possibly Canada by June.
Sorry, this was spotted on April 30th in Cumberland City, TN. Thanks for your help… I eventually found it last night, but I didn’t find anything saying a luna moth could get that big!
Ed. Note: The staff of What’s That Bug? does not wish to comment on the alleged size of the subject Luna Moth, which is estimated at twice the size of all published documentation we have seen.
mating Polyphemus Moths
Hello all. It’s Spring in North Carolina, and I just found these rascals enjoying the mild weather beneath my garden hose box. I’m pleased and relieved that I didn’t find the copperhead snake that I’d expected when I originally spotted the edge of one wing beneath the box. Love is in the air, and within 1 inch of the ground. Keep up the good work.
Craig in Central NC
Hi Craig,
Thanks for sending such a gorgeous image of mating Polyphemus Moths. “Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendour in the grass,” at least there will be a new generation of Polyphemus Moths thanks to this romp on the lawn.
Cecropia Moth in San Francisco
I came across your site after finding a cecropia moth at my office near San Francisco and saw that you told someone previously that the one they found must have been an escapee. After doing some research and verifying with entomologists at California Academy of Sciences, it was determined that the moth I found (as well as the one found by your previous poster) is a Hyalophora euryalus , or Ceanothus moth, common to the west coast of the US. You reorted to Chris and Josephine that they only occur east of the Rockies.
Just thought I would clarify. I have attached a picture of the moth I have found.
Cheers,
Chris
Hi Chris,
We are in full agreement that your moth is a Ceanothus Silk Moth, Hyalophora euryalus, but we still believe the previous posting from San Francisco is a closely related Cecropia Moth. The red edges on the wing markings and striped body are visual cues that lead us in that direction. We are not however entomologists. We are artists, and if an entomologist said the previous moth is a Ceanothus Silk Moth, we will defer, however, if you are basing this soley on the image that you have sent us without the entomologist reviewing the other image, then we cannot agree.
Bugman:
My son found a very large caterpillar several months ago. We kept it and watched it make its cocoon. It just came out of the cocoon this morning. Here is a picture. Please tell me what kind it is. Sorry I didn’t take a picture of the caterpillar or cocoon. Thanks,
Tom Pace
Hi Tom,
This gorgeous moth is known as the Royal Walnut Moth or Regal Moth. The striking caterpillar is called a Hickory Horned Devil. We get numerous moth and caterpillar photos, but we are sadly lacking in a pupa image.
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.
I like This