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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Imperial Moth

Large Moth-like bug!
Hello Bugman! My son found this out on our back deck this morning. I believe it looks like a large moth type insect. We live in east-central Indiana. Please help me to identify it and give me some other information on it! Thank You!
Megan and Kegan
Shirley, IN

Imperial Moth

Imperial Moth

Dear Megan and Kegan,
Your moth is an Imperial Moth, Eacles imperialis, a species well represented on BugGuide and in our own archives, though this is the first specimen we are posting this year.  Male Imperial Moths have more purple markings on their wings, and this would indicate that your individual is a male Imperial Moth.

Posted 04 July 2009 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Royal Walnut Moth

Big red/white(yellow?) moth
Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Hi! I found this moth this morning hanging out in my yard. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of what it could be? thanks!
Danielle
Charlotte, NC

Royal Walnut Moth

Royal Walnut Moth

Hi Danielle,
This beauty is a Royal Walnut Moth or Regal Moth.  In about September, we will begin receiving identification requests for its spectacular caterpillar, the Hickory Horned Devil.

Posted 03 July 2009 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Luna Moth from Canada

big green moth
Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 7:01 AM
We’re in Petawawa, Onatario and recently have had several of these beautiful moths visit us. The smallest one we saw was bigger than any moth we’ve ever seen, and the largest spanned the palm of my hand.
Anderson Family
Petawawa, Ontario, Canada

Luna Moth

Luna Moth

Dear Anderson Family,
Congratulations on your Luna Moth sightings. The Luna Moth, which is native to eastern North America from Florida to Canada, is probably the most distinctive North American Moth. It is unlikely that it could be confused with any other species. The Luna Moth is one of the Giant Silk Moths that only lives a few days as an adult, long enough to mate and lay eggs. It has no functional mouth parts and it cannot eat as an adult. Your sighting is our northernmost report this year. Florida sightings generally begin in February and as mild weather moves north, so do the Luna Moth emergences. The moth has spent its metamorphosis period in a pupa encased in a cocoon loosely spun around a leaf that falls to the ground and is buried in leaf litter.

Posted 01 July 2009 § Luna Moth - Rare Specimen ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mating Polyphemus Moths

Polythemus Love
Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 10:13 AM
This couple was observed hanging from an impatian basket on my deck this morning in Kent, Ohio. The romance lasted all morning long.
Lifelong Moth Watcher
Kent, OH

Mating Polyphemus Moths

Mating Polyphemus Moths

Dear Lifelong Moth Watcher,
We were lucky enough to see a female Polyphemus Moth on the observation tower at Fellow’s Riverside Garden in Mill Creek Park in Youngstown Ohio in early June. Your mating Polyphemus Moths are a welcome addition to our Bug Love section. Thanks for your contribution. The male with his more feathered antennae is the upper individual.

Posted 30 June 2009 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Elephant Hawkmoth

Moth/Butterfly/Insect???
Sun, Jun 28, 2009 at 9:24 AM
Found this in my garden today(28 th June 2009) on outside wall of the house.Unable to ascertain what it is- can you help
Hilary Ball
Lancashire UK

Elephant Hawk-Moth

Elephant Hawk-Moth

Hi Hilary,
This lovely moth goes by the unglamorous name of Elephant Hawk-Moth, Deilephila elpenor. The UK Moths Website has this to say about the Elephant Hawk-Moth: “The English name of this moth is derived from the caterpillar’s fanciful resemblance to an elephant’s trunk.
The adults are attractively coloured pink and green affairs, with a streamlined appearance. They fly from May to July, visiting flowers such as honeysuckle ( Lonicera ) for nectar.
The larvae feed mainly on rosebay willowherb ( Epilobium angustifolium ), but also other plants as well, including bedstraw ( Galium ).
It is a common species in most of Britain, including Scotland, where it has increased its range in recent years.”  That range expansion might be a symptom of global warming.

Posted 30 June 2009 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Laurel Sphinx from Canada

Enormous moth almost the size of a toothpick
Sat, Jun 27, 2009 at 7:20 PM
I found this moth this morning as I was leaving my house. I could hardly believe it was a moth at all,it is by far the largest I have ever seen in my whole life. Very unusual to find one this large in Newfoundland but here it is. I am actually quite terrified of ALL moths in general but seeing as this one is the size of a small bird and I am not afraid of birds,I’m ok with it.
It never moved a muscle all day but has gone completely mad inside it’s glass tonight. I fully intend on releasing it in the AM when it is less agressive and hopefully asleep. I certainly wouldn’t want it turning on me. Anyway could you please tell me just what sort of moth this is? The toothpick in the picture is standard size so as to give you an idea of it’s size. I couldn’t get a shot of it’s underside as it is very angry with me and not likely to sit still for a photo op.
Any information you might have on it is appreciated.
Cyndie from Newfoundland
Conception Bay South,Newfoundland. Sitting on my driveway.

Laurel Sphinx

Laurel Sphinx

Hi Cyndie,
Using Bill Oehlke’s awesome website, we quickly identified your Sphinx Moth as a Laurel Sphinx, Sphinx kalmiae.  According to the site:  “Laurel Sphinx larvae feed primarily on lilac and  fringe.  … Larvae have also been found on privet. ”

Laurel Sphinx

Laurel Sphinx

Posted 29 June 2009 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Poplar Hawk-Moth from England

Hi Bugman, could you please help identify this moth we have taken a picture of ?
Sun, Jun 28, 2009 at 6:22 AM
We live in the North East of England and we found this guy clinging to the outer wall of my Dad’s house near the porch, he has been sitting there for a few days. We have been able to have a good look at him. He looks about 3 inches wide with a body length of 1.5 inches, with brown body colours rather like a tree, with a fine black outline. His wings have a crinkled appearance also, they don’t appear straight and his body is quite thick in appearance which narrows down and turns up at the end. He has identical white markings on his wings like small half moon shapes. He could be quite common I don’t know but we thought he looked kinda special and would appreciate your help to find out what species he is. Sorry if I am calling our moth a he as I don’t have any knowledge of bugs he could well be a she! Thank you for your site, my family and I have been looking at the range of different bug’s most of which we hav’nt ever come across before and they are a delight!
Jo North East England
Sunderland North East England

Poplar Hawk-Moth

Poplar Hawk-Moth

Hi Jo,
This is a Poplar Hawk-Moth, Laothoe populi.  According to the UK Moths website, it is:  ”
Probably the commonest of our hawk-moths, it has a strange attitude when at rest, with the hindwings held forward of the forewings, and the abdomen curved upwards at the rear.  If disturbed it can flash the hindwings, which have a contrasting rufous patch, normally hidden. Distributed commonly throughout most of Britain, the adults are on the wing from May to July, when it is a frequent visitor to light. The larvae feed on poplar ( Poplar ), aspen ( P. tremula ) and sallow ( Salix ). “

Posted 29 June 2009 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Virginia Creeper Sphinx

Moth?
Fri, Jun 26, 2009 at 3:05 PM
Here is another bug that I am curious about. It was on the same wall as the Stag Beetle. I think it is quite stunning.
Chris Bullard
Wilson, NC

Virginia Creeper Sphinx

Virginia Creeper Sphinx

Hi Chris,
Your moth is a Virginia Creeper Sphinx or Grapevine Sphinx, Darapsa myron, and we identified it on Bill Oehlke’s fabulous website.  We are going to include Bill Oehlke in our response to you so he can add your sighting information to the data he is compiling on species distribution.

Posted 29 June 2009 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Virginia Ctenuchid

Pretty Bug
Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 3:00 PM
This may be the prettiest insect I have ever photographed — but what the heck is it?? Any help would be appreciated.
Bob Blaney
Manitoulin Island, Canada

Virginia Ctenuchid

Virginia Ctenuchid

Hi Bob,
This is a moth known as the Virginia Ctenuchid, Ctenucha virginica. Interestingly, we just posted a photo of a close relative, the Veined Ctenuchid, Ctenucha venosa, also from Canada. What was most interesting is that the Veined Ctenuchid typically ranges in the American Southwest, and it was about 1000 miles from home. The Virginia Ctenuchid is the only true eastern member of the genus.  The orange and blue coloration of the moth looks beautiful with the magenta blossom, a thistle we believe.  You may read more about the Virginia Ctenuchid on BugGuide.

Posted 25 June 2009 § Tiger Moths and Arctiids ‡ Comments (2) °

Veined Ctunecha 1000 miles off course, and Tachinid Fly

Blue Bug with Orange Head
Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Found this flying through my garage tonight at sunset in southern Ontario, Canada. Wrongly identified it quickly on the net as a Pine False Webworm, but the wings clearly indicate that it is something else. 2nd one I’ve seen in the area in 2 days and am wondering if there is an invasive species to be concerned about.
Jason
Ontario, Canada

questionable Ctenucha

Veined Ctenucha

Hi Jason,
We are a bit puzzled by your specimen, so we are contacting Julian Donahue, a specialist in the Arctiid Moths. This looks like a member of the genus Ctenucha (pronounced “ten U ka”) but BugGuide only list the Virginia Ctenucha, Ctenucha virginica from your area. It more closely resembles the Veined Ctenucha, Ctenucha venosa, but the Butterflies and Moths of North America lists its range as being nearly 1000 miles south and west of Ontario. Hopefully, Julian will give us a prompt reply. The fly in your one photo is a Spiny Tachinid Fly, Paradejeania rutilioides. According to BugGuide, adults take nectar and larvae are internal parasites of Tiger Moth Caterpillars.

Spiny Tachinid Fly and questionable Ctenucha

Spiny Tachinid Fly and Veined Ctenucha

Expert Comment from Julian Donahue
It’s Ctenucha venosa, alright, a species of the Southwest and Mexico.
Are you sure it’s from Ontario, Canada, and not Ontario, California (I don’t know of any California records, but it is more likely to have been accidentally imported here than to Canada).
If it is really from Canada, pass the photo and details on to Dr. Don Lafontaine, the noctuoid specialist at the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa–he would be greatly interested in Canadian records of this species.
Julian

Ed. Comment
Could it be that this unusual sighting is yet another sign of global warming?????

More Expert Commentary
Hi Daniel & Jason -
As Julian points out, this is definitely a noteworthy record if it is from Ontario; the nearest documented records of venosa are from northeastern Kansas. Since this conspicuous species is not known to occur between Kansas and Ontario, where the fauna is quite well-known, it is highly unlikely that this is a natural range expansion as might be the case with ‘global warming’; it more likely represents an accidental introduction by way of plant material (the larvae feed on grasses and sedges). I occasionally identify C. virginica cocoons attached to shipped nusrsery plants – this may be a similar case.
Jason, since this would be the first documented record of this species for Canada and well outside its known range, could you please provide me with the exact locality and date? Even better would be one or more specimens sent here, also with collecting data – I can give you more info if you are able to do this.
Cheers,
Chris
PS – the tachinid fly in the photo is Hystricia abrupta, a widespread species in northeastern North America; Paradejeania rutilioides is a much larger, differently patterned species that occurs in the southwestern US
B. Christian Schmidt, Ph.D.
Entomologist, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids & Nematodes/.

Posted 25 June 2009 § Tachinid Flies § Tiger Moths and Arctiids ‡ Comments (2) °

Tulip Tree Silk Moth

Please help us identify this beautiful moth!
Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 8:16 AM
Hey Mr. Bugman! We LOVE your website and use it to identify little critters we find around our wooden lot in North Central Maryland on the PA line. This morning we spotted this gorgeous moth, took pictures and immediately tried to identify it on your site…with out much success or time to spend looking. Please let us know if you can help us out. I have attached several pictures as it was so beautiful that I took A Lot! Thanks for all you do to provide such an educational site for us to view (we are homeschoolers, use it often and have spread the word to others)
Kindly, Valerie Corkran
North Central Maryland (Manchester)

Tulip Tree Silkmoth

Tulip Tree Silkmoth

Hey Valerie,
We love getting enthusiastic letters with wonderful photos like yours.  This is a female Tulip Tree Silkmoth, Callosamia angulifera.  You can read more about it on BugGuide. We feel confident that it is not the closely related  and similar appearing Promethea Moth, Callosamia promethea.

Tulip Tree Silkmoth

Tulip Tree Silkmoth

Posted 24 June 2009 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (1) °

Giant Leopard Moth

White moth with blue and black spots
Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 8:30 AM
I found this in northwest Louisiana close to the TX border about a month ago I think he was on his last leg. I was able to pick him up and move him out of harms way. I looked through your moth section and found no pics. I’d like to know what he is.
LaTonia
NW Louisiana near Texas border

Giant Leopard Moth

Giant Leopard Moth

Of LaTonia,
Of the four identification requests for the Giant Leopard Moth,  Hypercompe scribonia, we have received since Friday, your sighting was the furthest west and south.  Your moth is missing the scales from the tips of the wings, indicating either it is an older moth, or that it has encountered some type of trauma.  We are thrilled to be able to post all four letters so our readership will have a clear idea of the range of this moth, and also that despite the 1000s of miles separating them, their biological clocks are ticking on the same schedule.

Posted 22 June 2009 § Tiger Moths and Arctiids ‡ Comments (0) °

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