Moth?
Location: Le Chautay, France
May 13, 2012 4:59 am
Dear Bugman,
my aunt found this beautiful creature during last summer on the ground – i was wondering if you could identify it for me.
Signature: Cassia
Tiger Moth from France
Dear Cassia,
This is a Tiger Moth, and we cannot find any photos of French or European species that look similar, however, both the wing markings and body markings are remarkably similar to a North American species Hypercompe scribonia, known as the Giant Leopard Moth which is pictured on BugGuide.
Correction Courtesy of Karl: Leopard Moth
Hi Daniel and Cassia:
It probably is a Leopard Moth, but not the North American variety. The European species of Leopard Moth, or Wood Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina), is actually a Carpenter Moth in the family Cossidae. The larvae are stem borers and apparently can take up to three years to develop into adults. They are considered a minor pest on fruit trees. There is a fair amount of online information about the species, including this page from the “Interactive Agricultural Ecological Atlas of Russia and Neighboring Countries”. I don’t know if the North American species Hypercompe scribonia has made it to Europe, but Z. pyrina has been established in the northeastern USA since the late 19th century. Regards. Karl
Wow, thanks Karl,
This Leopard Moth looks so much like the Giant Leopard Moth.
Costa Rica moth
Location: Platanillo, Costa Rica
May 10, 2012 6:37 pm
This beauty was attached to the side of my casa today in Platanillo, Costa Rica – can you identify her? Your website contains a wealth of knowledge – thank you so much!
Signature: Paula
Possibly Automeris belti
Hi Paula,
This is one of the Giant Silkmoths, a group of large colorful moths, many with garish eyespots on the lower wings that have adapted to frighten off predators. Giant Silkmoths do not eat as adults and only live a few days to a week as adults. We believe we have identified your moth as Automeris belti and we will check with Bill Oehlke to verify that identification. Your photo reminds us of the colors of tropical sorbet.
Giant Silkmoth hiding its eye spots!!!
Bill Oehlke Concurs
HI Daniel,
Recently many new Automeris species were described.
If you have a more precise location in Costa Rica, that might help.
I cannot say for sure what it is. It might be belti, and that would be my
first guess, based on what I can see.
Platanillo, CR – 7 miles up from Playa Dominical. Thank you both for your help – it is such an incredible country to discover amazing new bugs! I have also seen another one of those inside my casa – I took it outside and it flew off to live another, eh few days – it’s wing-span was easily 7 inches across, yellow with spots 
Folks: I looked at the link for the Automeris belti – I found this poor baby in my casa a couple of weeks ago 
He was not nearly as big as the pale yellow ones I’ve seen, but of course looks precisely like the one in your link. I have also attached a pic of a stunning butterfly, which I took about a month ago.
Thanks so much for peaking my interest in these fascinating creatures. I love being in Costa Rica – I am a native Texan, and the butterflies in Dallas don’t hold a candle to the moths here. Keep up the great work!
Automeris belti
Thanks Paula,
We will try to identify your butterfly and create a distinct posting for it.
Mystery butterfly
Location: Douglas and Jackson counties, Oregon
May 9, 2012 9:59 pm
Hello bugman, I’ve seen these guys hanging around puddles in southern Oregon but have not found them anywhere in my guidebooks. Any idea what kind of butterfly these are?
Signature: Richard
Western White Ribboned Carpet Moths
Hi Richard,
You may have encountered difficulties in your attempts to identify this creature because it is not a butterfly. It is a diurnal moth. We did a web search for “diurnal moth Oregon” and found a photo on a FlickR forum Discussing ID Help Line in Field Guide: Butterflies & Moths of North America where it was identified as the Western White-ribboned Carpet Moth (Mesoluca gratulata). BugGuide has a page on the Western White Ribboned Carpet Moth and states: “adults fly during the day mostly in early spring (February-April), with a few late stragglers until mid-June.”
Thanks Daniel!
I was fooled a bit by some of the other pictures I had taken of these bunch of moths…in the photos their wings were upright so I presumed they were butterflies. I probably caught them in mid-flit and, as a rank amateur, made the wrong presumption. Thanks once again for your help, I really appreciate it.
Richard
Richard O’Neill
www.richardhikes.com
These Western White Ribboned Carpet Moths are easily mistaken for butterflies if you use the reductive differentiation methods most commonly mentioned including that butterflies fly in the day and moths fly at night and that butterflies rest with wings aloft and moths rest with wings flat. Those generalizations fit most butterflies and moths but not all of them.
Snoutmoth found! Bleptina caradrinalis
Location: Orange County
May 8, 2012 1:59 am
Hey bugman,
A little while back I sent a query about a funny little snouty-moth that snuck into my house (meanwhile, all the moths I’ve been trying to attract with a blacklight gleefully ignore it). Well, after a lot of searching, I think I’ve pegged him as a Bent-Winged Owlet. The pictures on the bug guide seem lighter than him, but he has the orange markings and the ribbony pattern on his wings. In celebration, I thought I’d send you the biggest picture I had of him. Unfortunately it’s a terrible picture, and he’s surrounded by sugar crumbles because that was the only jar we could catch him in on short notice. He did not seem to enjoy roasted cinnamon almonds as much as we do, sad to say.
Signature: Hopefully victorious
What's That Moth???
Dear Hopefully victorious,
Alas, we can neither confirm nor refute your identification, however we are posting your letter and photo and perhaps one of our more knowledgeable readers will be able to provide some insight. We are linking to the BugGuide page for the Bent Winged Owlet which does look very similar to your moth.
What’s this moth?
Location: Central CT
May 6, 2012 10:36 pm
I photographed this moth on an outbuidling on May 16, 2010. It’s very beautiful and I was wondering what it is.
Signature: Ken
Rosy Maple Moth
Hi Ken,
This is a Rosy Maple Moth, Dryocampa rubicunda. They seem to be more common some years than others and we have not had a year with numerous sightings since 2005.
Diaphania indica
Location: Nth Burnett. Queensland Australia
May 7, 2012 12:33 am
Hi guys,
Thought you might like this shot of Diaphania indica taken in my vegetable garden where cucumbers and rock melon are growing..
This is a female. They use the tufted abdomen to disperse pheromones by waving it around when they land. The other interesting thing about these is that they only have four legs.
Signature: Aussietrev
Cucumber Moth
Hi Trevor,
Your Cucumber Moth is a dead ringer for our North American Melonworm Moth, a relative in the same genus. Photos of the Cucumber Moth can be found on Oz Animals.
Beautiful Luna Moth
Location: Boyce, Virginia
May 4, 2012 5:10 pm
I submitted a beetle for identification but I also wanted to share you my special visit from a Luna moth! I was honored it rested upon my hand for a moment after I saved it from a spider web.
Signature: Admin of Plants, Fungus & Bugs…Oh My!
Luna Moth
Dear Admin of Plants, …
The Luna Moth is surely the most distinctive of all North American Moths and many folks consider it to be the prettiest North American moth. Though you deprived a spider of a healthy meal, we have to honor you with our Bug Humanitarian Award tag.
spiderlike moth
Location: leechburg, pa
May 3, 2012 2:48 pm
This insect is on my window. I believe it is a moth but I have never seen a moth that has a torso of a spider. I live in a rural setting just north of Pittsburgh, PA.
Signature: wonderinginpa
Small Eyed Sphinx
Dear wongeringinpa,
Your moth is a Small Eyed Sphinx, one of the members of the family Sphingidae, commonly called Sphinx Moths or Hawkmoths. They are powerful fliers. You can read more about the Small Eyed Sphinx and its other relatives on the Sphingidae of the Americas website.
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