big butterfly from buenos aires
Location: buenos aires, argentina
January 22, 2012 3:04 pm
Hello wtb, today when I woke up and went to the bathroom to wash my face I found this big butterfly grabed to the hand towel. It gave me a good scare. It has not moved the entire day, I wonder if it’s alive. I wish I had a better camera so I could take macro shots of it but the ones I’m attaching I think are fine.
Regards from argentina.
Signature: gabxolotl

Black Witch

Dear gabxolotl,
This is a moth known as a Black Witch, Ascalapha odorata, not a butterfly as you speculated.  There are many superstitions surrounding this wide ranging species as well as many colorful common names, many of which are indicated on BugGuide.  Your submission is the southernmost report we have ever received for a Black Witch and BugGuide does not even list South America as part of the range.  Wikipedia, however, does include the common name  ”Pirpinto de la Yeta” from Argentina.  The Texas Entomology page has a nice report on the natural and cultural history of the Black Witch and the same name is listed for Argentina.

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Moth size of Giant Swallowtail
Location:  Seminole, Florida
July 20, 2011  10:14 AM
Hi Daniel
Saw this at about 7:30a.m. today in front yard. I thought it
was a bat at first. Seminole ,Florida 33776
No exageration – it is the size of a “Giant” – Giant Swallowtail.
Sorry the pics aren’t better.
Do you know what it is?
Have a Great Day!
Brent

Black Witch

Hi Brent,
Your moth is a male Black Witch.  Females have light bands across the wings.  The Black Witch is a species associated with more tropical climates, though their northern migrations have been recorded for more that 100 years.  It is unclear why so many individuals fly north, as far as Canada, since their food plant, the acacia, does not grow in the North.  In recent years, the Black Witch has been reported to breed in the southernmost U.S.  We may be witnessing a range expansion due to global warming.  According to BugGuide:  “The northward migration out of Mexico is triggered by Mexico’s rainy season which typically starts in early June and lasts through October. Most US records are from June-August, with a considerable number of records from September-Novermber. [sic] Very few US records from December-May.”

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Great Big Moth!
Location: Milwaukee, WI
November 15, 2010 11:49 pm
When I was out feeding my feral kitties this afternoon I saw what I thought was a leaf poking out of the slats of the porch. Looking closer, I saw that it had antennae and little legs! The wing span was about 4-5 inches and was a pale greyish brown with some darker accent marks.
I thought at first the beastie was dead- I live in Wisconsin and it is, after all, mid-November, so I tried to pick it up. I just about jumped out of my skin when the thing came to life and started to wiggle it’s legs! I left it on the porch to do it’s mothy business. When I went to take a photograph the wind blew the moth over and I saw it had a fuzzy, dark rusty-colored body and lighter orange-red color on the underside of it’s wings. Do you know what this is? I’ve never seen a moth so big!
Thank you for your help!
Signature: Angela

Owl Moth

Dear Angela,
This is a very exciting report for us.  This is an Owl Moth, Thysania zenobia, a neotropical species that is found in Mexico, and the only U.S. reports on BugGuide are from Texas, however, the info page on BugGuide contains this information:  “Recorded through much is eastern North America east of the Rockies: AR, CT, FL, IA, IL, KY, LA, MA, ND, NY, OH, RI, SC, SD, TX, WI; Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia. Ranges south into South America. Range map.“  The Texas Entomology website has this information: “Caveney (2007) reports 14 Owl moth records from Canada. The western-most and northern-most record was collected in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Neil (1979) reports the eastern-most record at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was collected in late summer or early fall 1944. The specimen is in the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Halifax.“

Update: November 16, 2010
Hi again Angela.  We looked again at the Range Map provided by the Texas Entomology website and there are four reported sightings from Wisconsin.  There is a cluster of three sightings in the 1940s in Kewaunee and a single sighting in 1999 from Bayfield Co., N. Great Lakes Visitor Center, nr. Ashland.  You may want to contact Mike Quinn at the Texas Entomology website and report your sighting.
Sept 21, 1999

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Polyphemus Moth ?
May 28, 2010
Many, many thanks for the prompt reply and posting of my “Beautiful Green Bug” (Slant-winged Katydid). Your website is fantastic and your love of all our “critters” is evident. It is refreshing to have the privilege of communicating with individuals, such as yourselves. I’m going to send a donation for your site, next week, when my retirement check comes in. I’m sending you two more pictures of a moth. Pictures were taken on my shed door the end of April 2010, during the evening. This guy was beautiful but did not move much. He was quite hign on the door which necessitated me to use the zoom on my camera. One picture is with flash and one without — take your pick. After the pictures, I left him alone and later on in the evening he departe d. I believe him to be a Polyphemus silk moth of the Saturniidae family — please correct me if I’m wrong. Again, I’m thrilled to have found your site and humbled by your obvious love of nature and efforts to preserve “Her.” Many, many thanks.
Curt
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Black Witch

Hi Again Curt,
Thanks so much for your kind words, and you are under no obligation to contribute a donation, especially if you are on a fixed income.  Donations are no guarantee that we will respond to questions.  Mostly it is a matter of luck which letters we answer and post, but we do try to find unusual creatures, wonderful photos, or interesting letters in an effort to keep What’s That Bug? vital.  This is a Black Witch, Ascalapha odorata, a tropical and subtropical species that is common in Mexico.  The Black Witch is a very powerful flier, and there are documentations going back 100 years of sightings as far north as Canada.  In recent years, perhaps due to global warming, or perhaps due to the cultivation of its food plant the acacia, the Black Witch has begun to breed in southern states.  Your specimen is a female because of the presence of the pale wing bands.  Your sighting came at an unusual time.  According to BugGuide:  “The northward migration out of Mexico is triggered by Mexico’s rainy season which typically starts in early June and lasts through October. Most US records are from June-August, with a considerable number of records from September-Novermber. Very few US records from December-May.“

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