Imperial Moth Laying eggs
Hi WTB,
I am so glad that you are back! I live in central Florida and have two very curious girls who are 16 and 12. Yesterday my 12 year-old ran home from the bus stop and exclaimed,"Dad, Come quick, you’ve got to see this moth!" I grabbed my camera and she brought me to the side of a tree where she had found a very large yellow moth which was laying eggs on a live oak tree. I am an amatuer nature photographer and was able to get this picture of it as well. Thanks for the great site. We visit it often.
Mike Healy
Saint Cloud FL

Goodness Mike,
Your letter makes it sound like we were gone for months, or even years. We were only away for a few days. Thanks for your awesome image of a female Imperial Moth laying eggs. It is an exquisite photo.

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Unknowns – moth and bug.
What are these? Thank you very much for your consideration. Jon……
This is a very large moth, approximately 4 to 4 1/2 inches in length and was found on the exterior wall of our home one evening when the outside lights were left on. The time of year was August, during our monsoon season. We are at the 4,700 ft. elevation in the oak- grassland habitat of the Madrean Archipelago (Sky Island Country) of southeastern Arizona, 15 miles north of the Mexican border. This bug is found beneath rocks, lumber, buckets – wherever there is a covered and moist area. Unfortunately, they have found a way into our home, and they are active mainly at night. They can be flushed from the concrete patio edge at the patio/lawn interface by hosing down the concrete and they come swarming out of the wet ground and grass. They are constantly in motion and it is a rare moment when they are stationary. This one was feeding on the dead carcass of its own species. Occasionally, they will fly short distances. When they think you are too close, they will release a visible vapor puff from the distal tip of their abdomen with an audible "pop." Harmful? Dangerous?
Jon

Citheronia splendens	Bombardier Beetle

Hi Jon,
We are thrilled to receive both of your photos. The moth is Citheronia splendens, a species found in upper elevations in Arizona and Mexico. The beetle is a Bombardier Beetle in the genus Brachius, and your description of its defense is very accurate. They are predators, so beneficial, and harmless to you. According to BugGuide: “Adults have impressive chemical defenses, ejecting toxic, foul-smelling gases from their abdomen with a loud popping sound. The explosive brew is composed of hydrogen peroxide, hydroquinone, and catalytic enzymes. ”

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Please tell me
Dear sir,
please tell me about these moths… I am from Kerala India.. I found and photographed them from our area.. The yellow one is very large with transparent circles on the wings…15 cm on extended wings…I saw it flying in broad daylight Is there Day moths too? Please help me with their details such as scientific name, habitats etc. Regards
Ibrahim TMC, Kasargod ,Kerala, India

Hi Ibrahim,
Our favorite website for identifying exotic Saturnid Moths run by Kirby Wolfe is now a pay site, and we really cannot justify paying $40 to identify your moth. We did find an image that seems identical to your golden moth and it is identified as an Antheraea species. We then located a second website that supports that identification, and names it Aantheraea yamamai yamamai with the common name Japanese Oak Silkmoth. Your green moth is some species of Sphingidae, or Hawk Moth.

Update: (02/27/2008) Antheraea mylitta
Dear Experts from Whatsthatbug,
what a great webpage! I often enjoy the nice pictures and comments – it is such an explosive mixture of interesting details and beauty, congratulations! It is also a very nice and important medium for the evidentation of where the species occur… For the nice insert from 10.10.07 written by Ibrahim TMC, Kasargod, Kerala – I have another proposal; though the colour is really very much like that of A. yamamai from Japan or Russian Far East (specially in females, I am close to confuse the specimens too), what is quite surprising indeed – it should be an Antheraea mylitta female, with regard to the much bigger eyespots on the wings; a very fascinating species, similar to A. yamamai, but with the caterpillars spinning a much larger, splendid egg-shaped cocoon hanging on a strong peduncle from a twig. (Some subspecies are cultivated for silk in the region.) On the other hand, the information about A. yamamai occuring in India (as introduced species, like in Slovenia where I come from, since 1865) can be found in several sources of Lepidopterological literature – and I am wondering very much how it should be able to survive in a tropical climate, as coming originally from a quite winter-cold region (northern Japan) – except, maybe, in high mountains… (They overwinter as eggs and can only have one generation per year – needing therefore a colder climate.) Do You have any additional information about the Indian A. yamamai population and where they occur? (Attached is a photo of A. yamamai from Slovenia, making love on the window, the female is on the right.) Many Thanks in advance and nicest wishes to You and to Ibrahim, from Berlin,
Bostjan Dvorak

Correction March 24, 2010
Whilst researching a related moth from India, which we believe is the true Antheraea mylitta, we stumbled upon an image of Antheraea paphia on the World’s Greatest Saturniidae website that matches this older posting.  We found a comparable image on Flickr that supports the corrected identification.

Bill Oehlke’s corrected correction, a return to the original speculation
March 24, 2010
Daniel,
Because of the size of the hyaline areas of the eyespots, I believe both moths are Antheraea mylitta.
Bill Oehlke

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