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..
¶ Posted 24 March 2008 § ‡ ° 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.
¶ Posted 20 March 2008 § ‡ ° Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus)
One of a pair of Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus ) found in Lillian, Alabama 3/17/08. Pair found on the grass at the Lillian Recreational Park. Lillian is just across the Perdido Bay from Pensacola, Florida.
Thanks so much for sending your beautiful Polyphemus Moth image to our site.
¶ Posted 18 March 2008 § ‡ ° Botswana Moth
I was traveling in Botswana recently and took this picture but have not been able to identify the moth. It is sort of like the Emperor Moth of Australia.
Gerry Byrnes
Hi Gerry,
We are happy to once again have access to Kirby Wolfe’s awesome Saturnid Website, where we beleive we have correctly identified your moth as Pseudobunaea irius. We have tried contacting Kirby Wolfe directly to get verification.
Dear Daniel,
I’ve seen your website over the years. You do a great service to the bug-curious community. Regarding the Pseudobunaea, I believe that it is not irius. However, African species are not my forte, and I am presently spending the winter in Costa Rica where I do not have access to my diagnostic collection or reference library, so I am not qualified to give you the last word. I don’t know if you have access to Bill Oehlke’s site, but it’s likely that you could find a photo of your species there. Sorry to not be of more help. Regards,
Kirby
After getting the reply from Kirby, we located another German website with other members of the genus Pseudobunaea.
Update: (03/21/2008)
Daniel
The Pseudobunaea from Botswana might be irius, but I think it is more likely pallens.
Bill Oehlke
Luna Moth Picture
This beauty is still hanging out on our porch. He’s been there all day, and we’re very much in love with him already! Feel free to use this picture as you see fit! Thanks for a great site!
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for sending us your photo, but our readers are probably very curious where the sighting occurred.
Palm Coast/Flagler Beach, FL just north of Daytona Beach and just south of St. Augustine!
Moth Pics
Found the Luna on my back deck this morning (March 5). I live in South Georgia, but the temperature was in the low 50′s. My daughter and I found the others on our fenceline several years ago.
Rudy Gordon
Hi Rudy,
We are so thrilled to be able to post the first Luna Moth of the year. Your photo of mating Cecropia Moths is also quite welcome.
i have just found this beautifaul creature ,and have no idea what it is-butterfly or moth?
please can you help me to identify this creature? we are living in the south of israel. i have also found millions of hairy ginger little caterpillars in big webs like spider webs-know what they are? thanks
a.beeri (israel)
Hi A,
Your moth is a Great Peacock Moth, Saturnia pyri. Coincidentally, we just posted a photo of a caterpillar from this species photographed in France. Adults do not feed, the caterpillars eat leaves from a variety of shrubs and trees, and the species ranges throughout most of the warmer areas of Europe, the Mediterranean, and into the Middle East.
¶ Posted 04 March 2008 § ‡ ° moth or butterfly?
Dear Bugman,
Would you be able to identify the attached creature? This beautiful insect was discovered in Minnesota as a caterpillar and then has since blossomed into what you see here. The wing span is about 5”. It’s still below freezing temps here so we have it flying around in our office. Do you know what it eats? Any information would be helpful.
Kristin
Hi Kristin,
This is a Cecropia Moth, one of the Giant Saturnid Moths that do not feed as adults. They only live a few days and their goal is to mate and reproduce.
¶ Posted 02 March 2008 § ‡ ° 
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