Moth idendification
February 8, 2010
Please can you identify this moth for me! One seems to male and the other (Bigger) female
Luka Geertsema
Pretoria, South Africa
Variable Prince female
Hi Luka,
We identified your moths as Holocerina smilax, the Variable Prince, on the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site. According to the website, females are larger, and the Caterpillars are probably a “valuable human food source.” You may see photos of the adult moth and variable caterpillars on the Bizland Silkmoths website. It is not possible for us to determine from the photograph which of your images if of the larger moth, so we are unable to label the sexes. Normally in Giant Silk Moths, the antennae of the male are more developed and feathery, but due to the position the moth assumes when at rest, the antennae are not visible. We are going to copy Bill Oehlke on this response as he may have additional information to provide for us.
Variable Prince male
Sexing Information from Bill Oehlke
Daniel,
Thanks. Yes they are Holocerina smilax. The male is the one which has the more produced forewing apex and very triangular hindwings with acute anal angle..
Bill Oehlke
Thanx a million, attached are more pics should they be usefull. PS, the one on the bark was the female with antenae without “feathers”, the other one (male) on the green vetivar grass leaf. Is it suppose to occur in SA?
Greetings,
Luka
Variable Prince female
Yes, it is native to South Africa. Thanks for the additional images.
Variable Prince male
More images as Promised 3
Luka Geertsema
Large green moth
February 5, 2010
Saw this moth on a wall at the temple of Philae at Aswan in Egypt. It was 6 to 8 inchesf rom wingtip to wingtip. There was no vegetation for dozens of yards in any direction..
P Tucker
Aswan Egypt
Oleander Hawkmoth
Hi P Tucker,
This is an Oleander Hawkmoth, a species that is relatively common in the Mediterranean region, in Africa and in Asia.
Hi Daniel
Thank you very much for your explanation.
Kind regards
Phil Tucker
Beautiful Moth
February 4, 2010
I hope that you can respond to my email in time. I don’t know what to do with this moth. I live in Cleveland and it is very cold right now. I found it in the house. I can’t let it outside. It will die I really don’t know what to do with it in the house. I feel so bad for it. I believe it just came out of its cocoon. It must have been in one of the plants that we had outside this summer. What is it? Can I keep it alive until spring, and how? (It’s only February!)
Wendy
Cleveland, Ohio
Polyphemus Moth
Hi Wendy,
Alas, even if the weather was fine, this lovely Polyphemus Moth would only live a few days. They do not feed as adults, and only live long enough to mate. Sadly, it will die without mating.
Thank you for responding so soon. How sad. It is so beautiful.
Wendy
fat orange bug
February 4, 2010
fat thick body orange bug with eye shaped patterns on its wings. didn’t move around much and was able to expand it’s wings open using a piece of grass
what?
south florida
Io Moth
Dear what?,
This is a female Io Moth. She can be distinguished from the male of the species because the male has yellow upper wings.
Io Moth
Largest Furry Moth I have ever seen!!
February 2, 2010
Hi bugman, we found this very large moth on our house this morning – Near Wellington, New Zealand.
He was approx 15cm wing span with beautiful colourful brown/green and even pink markings but a little too furry for my likings. Sorry its not the best photo, I did not like to get too close to it 
We have some swan plants in our back garden with Monarch Butterfly eggs and caterpillars, so we are very proud of our bugs!!
Shona (mum), Charlie & Teddy
Paremata, Wellington, New Zealand
Emperor Gum Moth
Hi Shona, Charlie and Teddy,
This gorgeous moth is an Emperor Gum Moth, Opodiphthera eucalypti. As you can see from the images on the Csiro Entomology site for Australia, there are many variations. It is an introduced species in New Zealand.
Costa Rican Moth
January 27, 2010
Hello!
We here at the Monteverde Butterfly Gardens in Costa Rica are big fans of yours, and we have found a moth that we cannot identify. The photo should be pretty descriptive, but basically it is wearing some stylish headgear that resembles a broken twig. Your help is much appreciated!
Thanks
MBG Staff
Monteverde Butterfly Gardens Staff
Monteverde, Costa Rica
Owlet Moth
Dear MBG Staff,
This is an Owlet Moth in the family Noctuidae, a very large family. There are several North American genera in the tribe Plusiini pictured on BugGuide that have a similar profile. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to be more specific in terms of a species or genus identification.
Karl does some research
Hi Daniel and MBG Staff:
This is indeed an Owlet Moth in the family Noctuidae, and I believe the subfamily is Euteliinae (sometimes included in Plusiinae or Nolinae). In the Euteliinae, the beautiful ‘broken-twig’ mimicry is achieved with cryptic coloration, a squat posture and a dramatically upturned abdomen. As far as I can tell there are fewer than 20 species in 3 genera found in Costa Rica, but they are all similar and highly variable. I suspect the genus is either Paectes or Eutelia. The closest match I was able to find on the Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) site was Paectes obrotunda, but this is really just a guess. MBG Staff, if you contacted Dan Janzen at ACG he could probably give you a precise identification. Regards.
Hey Guys!
Thanks so much for your timely reply and insight! I have seen Noctuids before with upturned abdomens, but never one this drastic or with this degree of mimicry. I was actually convinced that it wasn`t his abdomen at all, but some weird ornamentation on top of the body, though when you look at it with this new perspective it makes sense. Thanks again, I will keep you updated if I find out anything more.
Keep up the awesome work!
Kyle and MBG staff. Karl
Wasp Mimic Moth from BVI
January 27, 2010
I think this may be a Spotted Oleander Caterpillar Moth, Empyreuma affinis, but with much darker upper wings and black body compared to the more familiar examples with bright red wings and iridescent blue body. Is this perhaps the male?
Donald Gudehus
Necker Island, British Virgin Islands
Empyreuma anassa
Dear Donald,
We agree that this is some species of Arctiid, but we do not believe it to be the Spotted Oleander Caterpillar Moth, despite the similarities. Perhaps it is another species in the same genus. We will write to Julian Donahue, and expert in the Arctiids, to see if he is able to provide an identification.
Empyreuma anassa
Julian Responds
Daniel,
A recent revision of Empyreuma has made E. affinis (type locality: Cuba) and some other named taxa synonyms of E. pugione (type locality St. Thomas, Virgin Islands). E. pugione is the only species of Empyreuma known from the Virgin Islands.
The only other species currently placed in Empyreuma is E. anassa from Jamaica.
Julian P. Donahue
Update: February 4, 2010
Dear Marlos,
I read Julian Donahue’s comments and compared an image of Empyreuma anassa at
http://www.mbarnes.force9.co.uk/jamaicamoths/images/empana.htm
with my photo. They appear to be the same species. So, if that is so, E. pugione = E. affinis is not the only Empyreuma known from the Virgin Islands.
Donald
We love that the Moths of Jamaica website has the same background color as our own website. When we first clicked the link, we thought we went to What’s That Bug? for a brief moment.
what kind of moth is this?
January 25, 2010
on june 28th 2008 i was at my school when i saw a really neat moth. it looked as if it was hurt and as a result it could not fly away, and we took some pictures. it reminds me of a tiger moth or a leopard moth. it has an orange and white body with black dots along its orange back and white side, and white tip rear end, its uper legs are orange whith black and white lower legs. its head is furry and white with slim black anteneas, its upper wings are white with black spots and its lower wings are orange with black spots. the only moths i have seen that are this size are large plain brown ones so i am very curious about this.
Jolena J
northern alberta, canada
Salt Marsh Moth
Hi Jolena,
The reason this Salt Marsh Moth reminds you of a Tiger Moth is that the Salt Marsh Moth is in the Tiger Moth family Arctiidae. The Salt Marsh Moth, Estigmene acrea, is found throughout North America except for Alaska and the Yukon, according to BugGuide.
Salt Marsh Moth
a moth?
January 24, 2010
well i found 2 similar caterpillars about 2 months ago so i took them to my house oh and i took the leafs from the near trees and i err raised them until they became cocoons and well one cocoon went missing while the other one is still in its cocoon and one day there was a moth i think, that was on the cocoon so i wonder is this what came out of the missing one if so why was it on the other’s cocoon…
Victor R
west israel
Green Drab Moth
Hi Victor,
Your moth resembles a Fruit Piercing Moth, Eudocima materna, we have posted in the past. It is definitely a different species, but we wonder if it is related. We hope one of our readers can assist in this identification.
Cocoon: Fruit Piercing Moth
Hi Daniel and Victor:
This is indeed a fruit-piercing moth, probably Ophiusa tirhaca (Noctuidae: Catocalinae). I don’t know if it has a common name in Israel but elsewhere it is referred to as the Green Drab Moth. It has quit a wide distribution, including southern Europe, Africa and Asia, and it has been introduced to Australia. As the name of the group suggests, the adult moths feed by piercing various fruits, especially soft fruits. The larvae feed on the leaves of a variety of trees and shrubs and can be a pest on pistachio trees (including in Israel). Regards.
Karl
what is this bug?
January 19, 2010
this is a florida find. we have no idea what it is other than a moth.
plaes and thank you
florida
Oakworm Moth newly metamorphosed
This is a newly metamorphosed Oakworm Moth in the genus Anisota. The wings have not yet expanded to their full size. Sometimes, this fails to happen and the adult moth will never be capable of flight. BugGuide has a nearly identical photo, and there is also considerable information on the genus posted to BugGuide.
Oakworm Moth
Wasp Mimic Moth from BVI
January 18, 2010
This moth was photographed in the early evening, 6:20 local time on Dec. 22 with a 400 mm telephoto lens.
Donald Gudehus
Necker Island, British Virgin Islands
Spotted Oleander Caterpillar Moth
Hi Donald,
This Spotted Oleander Caterpillar Moth, Empyreuma affinis, is a common Caribbean species that was recently introduced to Florida.
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We can’t find it in any of our “bug books” and were wondering if you could help identify it for us.
