Should I be scared of this?
Location: Near Atlanta
June 7, 2011 7:30 pm
I know…it is actually big enough to carry off a small child. We are a bug loving family though and don’t want to harm the good bugs. When this thing gets close though…heebeejeebies!
Signature: Juliette
Snowberry Clearwing Moth
Hi Juliette,
This is a perfectly harmless Sphinx Moth in the family Sphingidae, a group whose members are frequently mistaken for hummingbirds, especially the diurnal species like this member of the genus Hemaris. Here is an excellent identifying description on Bill Oehlke’s excellent Sphingidae of the Americas website for the Snowberry Clearwing or Bumblebee Moth,: “Hemaris diffinis is a very variable species, but almost always the abdomen sports contrasting black and yellow hairs, the ventral surface being quite black. The legs also tend to be quite dark and there is a black mask running across the eye and along the sides of the thorax.“ The description fits your individual perfectly.
2
¶ Posted 08 June 2011 § ‡ ° moth
Location: lorain ohio
June 4, 2011 9:49 pm
I want to know what kind of moth this is. It was about a inch long.
Signature: jesse
Small Eyed Sphinx
Dear Jesse,
This is one of a small group of Sphinx Moths known collectively as the Eyed Sphinxes and your moth is Paonias myops, the Small Eyed Sphinx. You may read more about its life cycle on the Sphingidae of the Americas website.
¶ Posted 05 June 2011 § ‡ ° strange butterfly thing?
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
June 3, 2011 4:19 pm
I live in Amsterdam and have a small garden in front of my house. The other day June 1st, I came home to find this attached to the fence around the garden. I tried to find it on goggle using key words and found nothing. I’m super curious. Maybe you could help!
Signature: Gideon Amsterdam
Lime Hawkmoth
Dear Gideon,
This is a common European moth known as the Lime Hawkmoth, Mimas tiliae, and you may read about it on the UK Moths website. Several years ago we reported a sighting of a Lime Hawkmoth in Pennsylvania that created quite a stir.
Wow! you responded so quickly. Thank you very much for you answer. I must say I’m a bit upset, I thought maybe it was new creature that only I had ever seen….
Pretty non the less. Thank you again!
Hi again Gideon,
There is no need to be upset. Sometimes very common species are rare locally. If you have never seen a Lime Hawkmoth before, it may be because its food plant did not exist in your vicinity, but that recently linden trees (called lime trees in the UK) have been planted. We feel it is wonderful to have common insects we have never seen before appear in our garden, provided they are not exotic introduces species that might wreak havoc on our local ecosystem.
¶ Posted 04 June 2011 § ‡ ° shades-of-green and cinnamon hawk moth
Location: central Missouri, USA
June 4, 2011 1:03 am
Dear Bugman, I found a very unusually colored (looks like military camo to me) this evening about 5pm, in 95 degree heat, residential area near urban ”wooded stream” and field, in central Missouri (Columbia). It doesn’t have enough detail to be Oleander’s, I don’t think, and not right for Pandora’s. the dorsal underwing is cinnamon and there is a thin cinnamon border line on the medial edge of the upper wing. Body about 1 1/4 inch long, resting windspan about 2 inches. the green on green bands are distinct but not blothed like the European Lime Hawkmoth. There is a small dusky ”dot” close to outer edge of upper wing, even with center of the body. I’m in cicada country in a major way so anything different is very interesting. This was resting on the wire bars of an outdoor dog kennel (just set up last night, had been inside dark storage shed before that). I got nervous about the possible Lime Hawkmoth occurrence from a PA site in 2007 posts online and so i have this moth in captivity-and of course it’s about midnight on a Friday, so i cannot take it to anyone for about 3 days. Any assistance is appreciated on id. I’m an endangered species ecologist, and general outdoor, wildlife, and wildflower enthusiast.
Signature: Thanks very much, Bree
Virginia Creeper Sphinx
Hi Bree,
We really appreciate your detailed email. This is a Virginia Creeper Sphinx, Darapsa myron, and we confirmed its identity on Bill Oehlke’s excellent Sphingidae of the Americas website. The data page on BugGuide indicates this is a wide ranging species and though it might not be common locally throughout its range, it does not appear to be endangered. We would urge you to release it so it can mate and perpetuate the species.
Thank you so much for a quick reply! I also notified and received a reply from Mr. Oehlke, and released this morning.
A very cool find.
bree
¶ Posted 04 June 2011 § ‡ ° what kind of moth is this?
Location: Connecticut
June 4, 2011 7:10 am
Hi Bugman,
We have had an emergence explosion here and have used your wonderful site to ID several of the moths we’ve found, but we are having trouble IDing this one. Can you help?
Signature: Maureen
Blinded Sphinx
Dear Maureen,
We are happy to hear our website has been so helpful. This is a Blinded Sphinx, Paonias excaecata, and you may verify that by scanning the photos on Bill Oehlke’s wonderful website, Sphingidae of the Americas. According to the site, “Males of the eye-spotted sphinxes rest with the posterior of the abdomen curved upwards” which indicates your specimen is a male. The species has the common name Blinded Sphinx because the eyespots on the underwings lack a black center or pupil, giving them the appearance of blind eyes. Eyespots on lower wings is a trait that has evolved in many Sphinx Moths and Giant Silkmoths and it is believed that the spots startle a predator into thinking the prey is actually a much larger creature that might harm the potential predator. When a predator, often a bird, begins to peck at a resting moth, they eyespots are suddenly revealed.
Thank you so much for the super quick response. My 6 year old daughter will be thrilled to know what it is.
Again, thank you!
Regards,
Maureen
¶ Posted 04 June 2011 § ‡ ° Moth I found!
Location: Lynnwood, Washington, USA
June 2, 2011 8:30 pm
Hello Bug Man!
I found this moth outside our garage yesterday morning. It’s wings were soaked so I tried getting them back in the tree, but they wouldn’t hold on. They’ve been in an open shoe box for two days, and now has this grey fuzz growing around the head.. But I have no idea what kind of moth it is, I’ve never seen one this big before.
Signature: Jessie
One Eyed Sphinx
Dear Jessie,
The moth in your photo is a One Eyed Sphinx or Cerisy’s Sphinx, Smerinthus cerisyi, and you can find out details of its life cycle on the Sphingidae of the Americas website. WE are uncertain what the problem with your individual might be, but things don’t sound so good. If you have tried releasing the moth and it won’t fly away, it might just be nearing the end of its life.
Yea, she unfortunately passed away a few nights ago, but it’s nice knowing what she was. Thank you!
¶ Posted 03 June 2011 § ‡ ° Unknown moth
Location: Glenmont, Ohio
June 1, 2011 9:35 am
Hi,
Some friends and I found this startling moth in late May near Loudonville, Ohio. We work in an outdoor industry and we’re working on our naturalist skills, so we want to know: what’s that bug? We appreciate any help you can give us!
Signature: Katie
Small Eyed Sphinx
Hi Katie,
This aerodynamic moth is called a Small Eyed Sphinx, Paonias myops.
¶ Posted 01 June 2011 § ‡ ° Huge moth, calling
Location: Gyeonggi-do Province, Gwangju City, South Korea
May 22, 2011 8:55 am
Dear Whats that Bug,
I found this on a morning walk a while back. I just remembered your site. It seemed to be calling, but it also seemed tangled in some strings (outside a laundromat). Maybe both?
I came back later (was on my way to work) and untangled it as well as moving it to a more moth-friendly location. You can’t see this in the photo, but the underside of the moth seemed laden with either eggs, mites, or maybe just really good insulation.
Thanks.
Signature: Ben, South Korea
Unknown Sphinx Moth
Hi again Ben,
We believe this is some species of Sphinx Moth in the family Sphingidae, but we are not certain. We haven’t the time to devote to the extensive research that it might take to properly identify the species at this time. We may have time later and perhaps one of our dedicated readers will be able to supply a species identification.
Unknown Sphinx Moth
Identification courtesy of Karl
May 24, 2011
Hi Daniel and Ben:
It looks like a Zena Hawkmoth (Langia zenzeroides). There are several similar subspecies with limited ranges, but L. zenzeroides zenzeroides appears to have the appropriate distribution (northern India, eastern and southern China, South Korea, northern Thailand and northern Vietnam). Regards. Karl
¶ Posted 22 May 2011 § ‡ ° 
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