Bug Love: Hera Buckmoths
August 25, 2009
Hi Lisa Anne and Daniel. As you can imagine, I was quite pleased today to find these mating Hera Buckmoths on the ranch of my friends Bart and Gay Lynn Byrd. I hope you enjoy them also.
The improvements to your site are great 
Peace
Dwaine
north of Glenrock, WY
Mating Hera Buckmoths
Hi Dwaine,
Thanks so much for sending your awesome photos of mating Hera Buckmoths. We are copying our webmaster who just spent an entire work week on our site improvements. We dumped all of our revenue into a new server and we are thrilled with the new found speed.
Mating Hera Buckmoths
¶ Posted 25 August 2009 § ‡ ° Tagged: bug love What kind of moth is this?
August 24, 2009
We found this moth at a lake in northern Wyoming. It has very feathery antennas. White wings with black spots. Its abdomen is white and black striped, with a fuzzy orange head and thorax. My images are not real clear. Thank you.
Allison
northern Wyoming
Hera Buck Moth
Hi Allison,
This is some species of Buck Moth in the genus Hemileuca, possibly the Hera Buckmoth, Hemileuca hera. You can see if the photos posted to BugGuide match your moth.
¶ Posted 25 August 2009 § ‡ ° Beautiful green moth
August 21, 2009
I found this unusually large moth in July. It was 4 inches from tip to tip with green wings and gold antenna. Unfortunately, it was barely alive and died shortly after.
Peter
Central Virginia
Luna Moth: Dead of Natural Causes
Hi Peter,
This is a Luna Moth, what most people consider to be the most beautiful North American moth. At any rate, it is the most distinctive North American moth, and is not likely to be confused with any other native species by even the least observant individual. Luna Moths do not feed as adults and only live a few days, long enough to mate and lay eggs. Thanks for providing us with a view of the underside of the moth, a vantage we rarely receive.
Luna Moth: Dead of Old Age
Polyphemus Moth
August 17, 2009
While on vacation, i found this Polyphemus moth hanging around one of the buildings in the resort i was staying at. every morning i would walk around the buildings looking for moths. and each day i would usually find 5 or 6 large silk moths. this one was on the same building each day, but always in a different place. i saw this one for about a week and it was in good shape, so i took pictures. i picked him up every time and carried him around that building looking for more, and put him back where i found him before moving to the next building. its alway fun getting the ” wow look at that bug” or “dude you have a bug on your shirt.” moths have fascinated me since i was little. especially the larger silk moths.
Zach
Kissimmee, Florida
Polyphemus Moth
Hi Zach,
Thanks for sending us your nice letter and wonderful photograph of a Polyphemus Moth.
¶ Posted 18 August 2009 § ‡ ° Big moth and black widow
August 14, 2009
My son and I had a Discovery Channel moment leaving the post office yesterday. This moth was alive, and the spider was working very hard to wrap it up. It would climb up, drop a line down, throw a couple of legs over the moth, go over to the other wing, and repeat. The moth was fluttering but losing the battle.
We couldn’t believe this was right in the middle of the sidewalk (yes, there was a brick column in the *middle* of the sidewalk) at the entrance to a busy post office in the middle of the day!
I was going to take video but could only manage a quick cell phone photo before a well-meaning man came up and stomped the spider.
I think this is a real black widow, but I’m having trouble positively identifying the moth. We see them all the time here in Georgia – as the summer progresses, the moths get bigger.
Can you help?
Patty and Gabriel
Powder Springs, Georgia
Black Widow captures Regal Moth
Hi Patty and Gabriel,
We are sorry to hear that this shy and retiring, though poisonous Black Widow was stomped before getting to enjoy its gargantuan meal. The moth is a very bedraggled Regal Moth or Royal Walnut Moth. Its appearance indicates that it was already at the end of its short adult life. Regal Moths do not feed as adults, and only fly long enough to mate and lay eggs, and possibly, like this specimen, provide a nutritious meal to a lucky predator.
Luna Moth
August 11, 2009
I found this moth outside my home in Auburn, Alabama. It stayed in the same place for 2 days then disappeared. It is so beautiful that I made it my background on my computer.
Jessica
Auburn, AL
Luna Moth
Dear Jessica,
Thanks for sending us your lovely photo of a lovely Luna Moth.
Butteryfly/Moth looking insect
August 2, 2009
I was camping over the weekend and came across this big moth/butteryfly type insect. It just stayed in that spot for hours then it left for sometime and then the next day it was back on a different spot on the cabin.
thanks
Labarr15
Old Forge, NY
Luna Moth
Dear Labarr15,
Now that you know that this is a Luna Moth, you should be able to find enough information online to fill a book, one of those things that we really need to continue writing.
Giant Orange Moth
July 29, 2009
I was sent this photo from a friend in Chico, California. My friend said the moth was about a foot from wing tip to wing tip. I have only found one other photo online, but it has no name to it. I am curious as to what kind of moth this is.
Ann G
Chico, California
Polyphemus Moth
Hi Ann,
This is a Polyphemus Moth. Charles Hogue indicates in his book Insects of the Los Angeles Basin that the species is native to the Los Angeles area. BugGuide also has reports from California, but most of our reports come from Eastern North America. Thanks for sending us this California documentation. We are also going to copy Bill Oehlke on this as he is compiling comprehensive data on species distribution.
¶ Posted 29 July 2009 § ‡ ° 
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