California – Moth with 6-8" wingspan and headlight??
While looking for raccoons that had been eating our peaches, we saw what looked like a single eye looking back at the flashlight. As we moved in closer we thought it was some kind of fruit bat. But the wings were too straight, and it had too many legs (or appeared to – we really didn’t get that close!) My husband said it looked like some kind of moth, the boys and I thought he had to be wrong – no moth was that big – but after looking at the picture and your website, I thought he might be right. It looked like a single eye with the flash light, but the pictures looks more like some kind of reflector on the front and the eyes on the side. It’s wingspan was atleast 6”, looked more like 7 or 8”. (The peach it’s on is about 2.5”). Any ideas on what this thing is? Thanks
Marti

Hi Marti,
Your moth is a neotropical species, the Black Witch. It is now generally believed that the Black Witch does breed in Southern California, Florida and probably Southern Texas. Black Witch sightings occur from as far north as Canada. This large Noctuid moth is capable of flying great distances. The Black Witch in your photo is being opportunistic, by taking advantage of the raccoon bite in the peach which has revealed the succulent pulp. Moths cannot bite. They each have a strawlike mouthpart known as a proboscis. The headlight is a reflection of the flashlight in the eye.

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do you know what this is?
Bugman!
I have been searching on several identification sites for the correct ID of the lepidopteran in the two pictures I have attached. I have been unsuccessful in my pursuits, so I am posing the question to you, "What is that bug?" This moth was photographed 24 July 2007 in Richardson, Texas (suburb of Dallas, Texas). I apologize for the lack of information, and there are no good pictures of the underside of the wings. I would love to know if you can still ID this lepidopteran!
Amy Jones

Hi Amy,
This gorgeous creature is a Black Witch, Ascalapha odorata. You photo shows what big eyes they have. Amusingly, we just received a request to created a dedicated Black Witch page, and we will start with your image.

Thank you!!! That was such a quick answer…I am impressed! Thank you for maintaining your website because it really helps the amateur entomologist!

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Ed. Note: (09/30/2006) Though this letter came to us last year, the abundance of identification requests in late September and October influenced our decision to make the Black Witch Moth the Bug of the Month. It also has a great common name for the Halloween season.
(10/06/2005) What kind of moth is this?
Joe Greco

Hi there Joe,
The Black Witch Moth is very common in the tropical regions of Central and South America, and can also be found occasionally in Florida and the Gulf states. Occasionally specimens, usually females, are found in the North. In the Fall, they are even reported from as far north as Canada. When they fly around lights at night, they look like enormous bats. When we stayed in a country home in Puebla Mexico, they commonly flew into the house and rested on the walls near the ceiling until nightfall, when they would fly away. Thank you for a great photo.

Update:
(10/15/2005) Black Witch
Hola Bugman,
You seem to be relying on some outdated sources of information about the black witch moth, namely: Covell, C.V. 1984. Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. Powell, J.A. & C.L. Hogue. 1979. California Insects. University of California Press, Berkeley. 388 pp. Current taxonomy is: Ascalapha odorata. Both males and females (in equal proportions) migrate north starting at the end of May, not late summer. They regularly (probably annually) reach Canada, as I know of some 30 Canadian records. They are actually most common across the Southwest, not in the Gulf coast states of LA, MISS, Alabama… They do breed in the US as larvae have been found in Southmost Texas and due to their abundance in Florida, they much breed there as well. More BWM info here: North American Black Witch Records http://www.texasento.net/witchna.htm
Natural History of the Black Witch http://www.texasento.net/witch.htm
Black Witch – Storm Information www.texasento.net/witch_storm.htm
Early Northern 2005 BWM Records www.TexasEnto.net/witch_north.htm
Hope this helps…
Mike
Texas Entomology
www.TexasEnto.net

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