moth with pointy parts
April 24, 2010
This moth was stuck to the screen door. Located in Maryland, about 65 degrees out, partly cloudy day, around 10 am. Photos are included. It had pointy antennae on the head and very interesting wings- very bat-like and leathery. Reddish color. The wings look like bat wings or like 70′s bell bottoms- wide and unusual. I’m a science teacher and this one totally baffled me!
From, Megan (and Buddy the dog in the background)
Damascus, Maryland
Small Eyed Sphinx
Hi Megan,
Your photo is so funny and amusing, we had to post it. this is a Small Eyed Sphinx, Paonias myops, and you may read more about the species in our archives and on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website.
¶ Posted 24 April 2010 § ‡ ° Stealth Bomber…or a moth!
April 18, 2010
I’ve tried on my own and I can’t identify this moth. He was so pretty and sleek.
1 1/2″, maybe 2″ August evening on Vermont/Canada border. I hope I can get the photo to upload. I did put the bruiser back out for the night!!
Jane
On my shoulder, Newport Vermont
Small Eyed Sphinx
Dear Jane,
You are not the first person who wrote to us comparing Sphinx Moths or Hawkmoths in the family Sphingidae to a stealth bomber, so we were curious what that would reveal in our search engine. Sometimes we lose touch with our readership because we are so used to our website, so we decided to put ourselves in your shoes and attempt an identification. We typed in stealth bomber moth and found this page: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/?s=stealth+bomber+moth which produced two old posts of related but different species, one from 2004. We believe an observant person might see the family resemblance, but we would never disparage anyone for being unable to negotiate the vastness of our archives, because we have been known to search our own site for up to fifteen minutes trying to pin down some elusive memory we have of the same species or a related species, perhaps as long as ten years ago.
At any rate, this is Paonias myops, also known as a Small Eyed Sphinx which is well described on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website.
Hello Daniel,
Thank you so much for identifying this fellow for me! I had NEVER seen such a creature before the night he decided to land on my shoulder! I’m not that “up” on the bug world but I knew this couldn’t be a butterfly so it must be a moth. I’ll have to do more reading because to see this creature in the flesh, he looked like he was covered with fur; just so sleek! But I don’t suppose it’s fur!
Bill Oehlke does have an excellent site; I wandered around it for quite a while. One thing he does is show the caterpillar stage and then the “adult”. I garden a lot in the summer (in Vermont) and see lots of interesting caterpillars. Unless I educate myself, though, I don’t know if I’m seeing a good guy or a bad guy!! As in, harmful versus beneficial.
I’m just so tickled that you wrote back. You also identified my grapevine beetle that I submitted the other night.
Isn’t the internet grand?!
Sincerely,
Jane Housewright
Hi again Jane,
The moth does have a furry appearance, but the fur actually consists of modified scales.
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¶ Posted 18 April 2010 § ‡ ° a large moth in Mesquite, NV
April 15, 2010
Dear Bugman,
I spotted this large moth this morning (4/15) around 8am in Mesquite. The temperature was around 60. It just hung out on the pump while I gassed up my Corolla. What kind of moth is it?
Thanks!
Andrea
Mesquite, Nevada, USA
Striped Morning Sphinx
Dear Andrea,
This lovely moth is a Striped Morning Sphinx or White Lined Sphinx, Hyles lineata, arguably the most common large moth in North America. It ranges in all 48 of the continental states as well as Mexico and Canada. Gas Stations can be magnets for large moths and other insects that are attracted to lights, like Toe-Biters and Prionid Beetles.
Hi Daniel,
Thanks so much! 
Andrea
¶ Posted 16 April 2010 § ‡ ° Oleander Hawk Moth in VA?
April 15, 2010
Here’s a photo of a little guy that spent the whole day hanging out on a brick wall at a job site in Lorton, VA with me. He certainly looks like a Oleander Hawk Moth, but seems to be way out of his range.
Curious in Baltimore
Lorton, VA
Pandora Sphinx
Dear Curious,
While the coloration of your moth is similar to that of the Oleander Hawkmoth, your specimen is a different species in the same family. Your Pandora Sphinx is a local species.
¶ Posted 15 April 2010 § ‡ ° Little moth sounds like a little airplane
March 27, 2010
I love your site. The fabulous pictures have helped identify many of the bugs I’ve photographed in my travels. I live in Jakarta, Indonesia. This year the raining season has brought lots of butterflies (I’ve counted at least 10 different ones) and a few caterpillars. Unfortunately, because of the rain, we are getting lots of ants too. Most of my neighbors requested to have the gardens/houses fumigated weekly. So I do my rounds and collect caterpillars and keep them until I get beautiful butterflies and moths. I have full cycles of a few different bugs, which I’d love to upload to get them identified. I think this is a type of hummingbird moth. The gardeners thought it was a bird!
Many many thanks.
MiriamR.
Kemang, South Jakarta, Indonesia
Gardenia Hawkmoth
Hi Miriam,
We are touched by your letter and your neighborhood efforts to preserve caterpillars, moths and butterflies in your area. We also hope you send us additional photos and information on your rescue efforts.
You are correct that this is a Hummingbird Moth. More specifically, this is the Gardenia Hawkmoth, Cephonodes hylas, a species common in Asia. The caterpillar in your photo actually appears to be feeding on the leaves of gardenia. You can see additional photos and read about this moth on the Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic website that states: “The moths are rather slow in taking to the wing, but when they do so the flight is very rapid. They make a deep humming note when slightly alarmed, as do Macroglossum moths. They are very active in the morning and evening and dart rapidly from flower to flower, as well as ovipositing on the wing. They are not attracted by light. Bred females do not readily attract wild males, but the sexes pair freely in captivity.“
Gardenia Hawkmoth Caterpillar
The image of the egg appears to be ready to hatch. The egg on the cited website is described: “OVUM: Pale blue-green or green when freshly laid, becoming pale canary yellow with age. Oval (0.75 x 0.85mm), shiny and very smooth. Laid singly on the underside of young leaves near the growing tip, or on shoot tips.“
Gardenia Hawkmoth Egg
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for confirming that it is indeed a hummingbird moth. All three specimens I’ve photographed still had the protective coating of scales. They started vibrating their wings, lost some brown fluid (just like the swallowtails do when emerging from the chrysalis) and some scales as they tried to fly. One of them took hours to completely clear its wings, the other two did it in less than 30 minutes. I promise to upload other photos.
Many thanks for your response,
Miriam
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Is it an Oleander Hawk Moth?
March 19, 2010
I’ve spotted this cute looking moth at a playground, fortunately I happened to have my camera with me. It’s a rather large moth – I would say around 8-10 cm wingspan. Searching the web, I found it to resemble the Oleander Hawk Moth -
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/oleander_hawkmoth_india.jpg
only my fellow is yellow-brown rather than green. Can you help me identify it please?
Gal
Israel, Tel Aviv area
Oleander Hawkmoth
Hi Gal,
The markings on your moth sure look like those of the Oleander Hawkmoth, Daphnis nerii, but as you point out, the coloration is unusual. We found a Sphingidae of Israel website that pictures an Oleander Hawkmoth, and nothing else pictured looks remotely similar. The Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic website does show a more brown specimen, but it also depicts a closely related species on another page, Daphnis hypothous, that is brown. The site indicates that a white spot on the forewing apex identifies the latter species, and that spot is missing from your specimen. We believe your specimen is a color variation of the Oleander Hawkmoth, but we will contact Bill Oehlke to verify that identification.
¶ Posted 20 March 2010 § ‡ ° ALL I KNOW THAT IT’S A MOTH
March 18, 2010
i found this beautiful and cute moth,just 1 meter from my front door.she was shaking and did not fly away as i held it.
i noticed the beautiful orange hidden wings…
i wanted to know what is it…so you are the best ones to ask buggy buddy..!!
BTW , we see these moth in coastern cities of syria,but i found this one in a dry area.
WAEL
ALEPPO,SYRIA,MIDDLE EAST
Striped Hawkmoth
Hi WAEL,
Your moth is a Striped Hawkmoth, Hyles livornica, and it very closely resembles a North American species, the Striped Morning Sphinx, Hyles lineata. Both species occasionally have population explosions. Just over a year ago, we received a letter from Iraq with a photo showing hundreds of Striped Hawkmoths that had been attracted to the lights on an oil drilling rig.
Striped Hawkmoth
¶ Posted 18 March 2010 § ‡ ° Another Yam Hawkmoth?
February 26, 2010
We saw this unusual bug on the wall at our hotel in Myrtle Beach, SC back in Sept. When I went looking to identify it, I found your site. We are from PA so the insect is totally foreign to us. Thanks for your help.
Cindy Smith
Myrtle Beach, SC
Tersa Sphinx
Dear Cindy,
This is a Tersa Sphinx, Xylophanes tersa. Interestingly, Tina from Hawaii, who submitted the photo of Hippotion boerhaviae, which we originally misidentified as a Yam Hawkmoth, believed her moth resembled a Tersa Sphinx. You may read more about the Tersa Sphinx on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website.
¶ Posted 26 February 2010 § ‡ ° 
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