Large Green New Zealand Moth
September 28, 2009
Hi, This moth greeted me on the steps to my house when I returned from work. Most likely it was there when I went to work. It is still early spring here.
You can see one wing in the photo. The other is wrapped onto the opposite side and held near the belly. The body is full, long, and thick, and the tail end can be seen poking out of the bottom of the wings.
Pictures were taken with a 8mp camera on tulip setting. When you zoom in you can see the water droplets and the hairs. It is very cool looking.
When it became dark it flew away. It was about 5cm long. Please let me know the name.
Kind Regards,
MarkcNZ
Eastbourne New Zealand (Near Wellington)
Puriri Moth from New Zealand
Hi MarkcNZ,
This is an impressive moth. Over the years, we have properly identified two green moths from New Zealand and Australia, but this appears to represent yet a different species. The markings are somewhat similar to a Geometrid, Tatosoma tipulata, that we posted in May, but it is obviously different. Several times, we have posted images of moths in the genus Aenetus, from the family Hepialidae, known as Ghost Moths or Swift Moths. That is our best guess and possibilities are posted on an Australian Lepidoptera page. We started to follow that thought, and we found a species Aenetus virescens, known as the Puriri Moth, that Wikipedia calls: “New Zealand’s largest native moth.“ We also located an image on Flickr. We are confident that the identification is correct despite variations in the markings from image to image.
(05/14/2008) anaetus tegulatus
From your web site, I think this is anaetus tegulatus. I can’t find out much about her. I live near Albany, Western Australia (south western corner of the country). She seems to be mentioned in places like Queensland. Is she lost, or have I just not looked for the information in the right places? Can you tell me where I can find more information? Thanks,
Sindi
hi Sindi,
Your identification of Aenetus tegulatus is correct, but the spelling in your letter is not. We don’t know if this sighting represents a range expansion, or if the information online is incomplete. At any rate, it is a beautiful green Australian moth.
Update: (05/15/2008) aenetus moth
Dear Daniel,
Sindi’s moth was seen in SW Western Australia. I am wondering if it might be Aenetus dulcis, which is found in WA and has green females, larvae living in Agonis. See http://linus.socs.uts.edu.au/~don/larvae/hepi/dulcis.html Regards,
Grev
moth found that i cannot identify
to whom it may concern, my name is nathan morello
in the early hours of this morning i found a large green moth, and after spending a few hours online i cannot identify it. it is approximately 3′ or 7.5cm long with a folded wingtip to wingtip span of about 2′ or 5cm. it is green ontop with 6 brownish/black spots on each dominant wing. the underside of the wings are pinkish with green edgings. i found it in the blue mountain range in nsw Australia. as stated i cannot find anything close to it online, no pictures or information. can you be of any assistance in identifying it or is it possible i have discovered a new species, and if by chance it is a new species how do i officially name it. thankyou your time and assistance yours sincerly
Nathan Morello
Hi Nathan,
A quick web search of green hawkmoths from Australia did not provide an answer for us. We will contact Bill Oehlke to see if he recognized your Sphinx or Hawkmoth in the family Sphingidae. Bill Oehlke wrote back: “Daniel, I don’t know what it is but am pretty sure it is not one of the Sphingidae. Bill Oehlke”. Then, while trying to identify another Australian Hawkmoth, we discovered this site devoted to Australian moths on stamps and an image of Aenetus tegulatus. A further google search produced actual photographs of the species and we are satisfied this is your moth.
rss
I like This
