Moth ID please
Hi Bug man.
My 7 year old son turned me on to your site. I’ve been a bug collector all my life and it seems he’s following in my footsteps. I travel quite a bit and am required to pack a net. "Dad, you’ve got a net, right?" Last month I was on a fishing trip in Guerro Vincente Mexico. The fishing was on the slow side so I started checking some lights in and around the village. I found plenty of Satellite Sphinxes and some that appeared to be Carolina Sphinx. This one however has me stumped. It came to a light late at night at laundro mat. It is 5 3/8" in wing span. Any ideas? Also, I missed a larger moth that had "Atlas" type upper wings and was as flighty as a Black Witch. I’m still bummed. Thanks a million for teaching Josef so much in this field. Keep up the good work. I noticed your site doesn’t have: Elm, Waved, Abbots, Wild Cherry, Ash, Pandora, Laurel, Blind Eye, Cersey’s andTwin Spotted Sphinxes. ‘Want’ em?
Tim Borski
Hi Tim,
We quickly located your beautiful moth, Dysdaemonia boreas, on the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site, an amazing private access website with a membership. Dysdaemonia boreas is found in much of Mexico, Central America and South America. We located another image on a public access website, the Moths of Belize. We are going to copy Bill Oehlke on our reply as he may want your location information to add to his comprehensive sighting data. The other large Saturniid you describe may be one of the Rothschildia species. Regarding the missing Sphinx Moths you mentioned, we currently have 7 Sphinx Moth pages, and some of the species you mention are represented on our site. If you find any totally lacking, or underrepresented, please send us photos and data, like time of year, location, and anecdotal information our readership may find amusing.
Promethea, Luna and Imperial Moths
Hope I have the right IDs on these 3 moths. My name is Barbara Edwards and I live in Macon, Ga. The Imperial Moth was taken 2 days ago and the Promethea and Luna was taken last year.
Hi Barbara,
While the Luna and Imperial Moths are correctly identified, the moth you believe to be a Promethea Moth is actually another moth in the same genus, the Tulip Tree Silk Moth, Callosamia angulifera. Your specimen is a female.
Black Witch Moths – Male & Female
Both sexes on the same screen!
Enjoy Keep the Spirit of Aloha alive!
Michael F. O’Brien
Waikoloa, HI
Hi Michael,
We we first read your very short email, we thought you had a photo of a pair of Black Witch Moths on the same window screen. Upon opening the photo files, we realized the screen you have in mind is the computer screen. We are also surprised that you manage to meticulously lable the file names on your digital photos with much information, yet your communication to us is quite spare. We know that collected insects without information regarding the circumstances of the capture are relatively worthless, so in the interest of credibility, we are including your label information here. The darker male Black Witch has the label: “P1070967(72)
Overkill: Sphinx Moth sprayed to death!!!
(08/15/2008) is it as dangerous as it looks?
Hi,
my little brother saw this bug upside down on our porch in Italy. He killed it with wasp spray, so it’s all wet, which might make it a little harder to recognize. I hope you can still get an idea of what it is… Thanks a lot!
Esther
Sphinx Moth Exterminated
Hi Ester,
If ever the word “overkill” could be used regarding the use of pesticides, your photo ranks a close third after the global use of DDT and the statewide spraying of Malathion against the Med Fly in California in the 1980s. It appears your brother used an entire spray can of foaming pesticide to dispatch one harmless Sphinx Moth. This is textbook unnecessary carnage.
Is this an Underwing Moth (genus Catocala).
I was browsing the pictures and assume this is maybe what my moth is? Can you tell if this is correct or something else. I wouldn’t have even seen the little creature had it not flapped its wings when my husband walked past the tree. This was at Rough River in McDaniels, Kentucky Thanks,
Janeen
Hi Janeen,
Underwing Moths generally have brightly colored underwings. Your moth is one of the Geometrid Moths. We believe it is a very well camouflaged Tulip-Tree Beauty, Epimecis hortaria. BugGuide indicates that it has a highly variable wing pattern. This variability will ensure the survival of the species by providing different types of camouflage for different types of trees which may provide potential resting sites.
¶ Posted 14 August 2008 § ‡ ° Ailanthus Webworms Mating Photo
Hi there, I just recently found your site and have found it quite helpful! I was going to submit the attached picture for identification, but, I found the bug on the site. However, I wanted to send the photo anyway because it’s a great picture of 2 Ailanthus Webworms mating and thought you may like to add it to your photos. If not, that’s cool, but I thought I’d send it just in case. I’m in Missouri and these bugs are all over the place. I assume it must have something to do with the insane amount of *annoying* Ailanthus trees we have surrounding our house? Hope you find the pic useful! Sincerely,
Sara B.
Hi Sara,
Your photo of mating Ailanthus Webworms is beautiful. We get so many requests for the identification of this species and we have numerous photos in our archives, but your photo is the only mating image we have received. Despite the frequency of sightings of Ailanthus Webworms, their presence seems to be doing nothing to control the scourge of the incredibly invasive Ailanthus tree which has been infiltrating natural forests from coast to coast. We expect that one day it may be the only tree known to mankind.
¶ Posted 13 August 2008 § ‡ ° Tagged: bug love I have no idea what kind of bug this is
My name is Kathleen and I live in Pasadena, Texas. I found this bug outside my house on a tent in the backyard. I asked friends if they knew what kind of bug it was, and none of them knew. They also said they had never seen a bug like this before. Oddly enough, I saw another one like that the other night in my backyard. If you could please tell me what kind of bug it is, I would appreciate it. Its become a mystery to us all. Thank you,
Kathleen
Hi Kathleen,
You can now impress your friends with the name of an insect that begins and ends with the letter X. This is a Xylophanes tersa, the Tersa Sphinx. We are copying Bill Oehlke on this reply so he can add your location information to his comprehensive species distribution data.
Mating Lunas
I Live in Northwest Arkansas and these mating Luna moths were on my deck this morning thought you might want to add to your collection.
Tony Powell
Hi Tony,
The progeny of these mating Luna Moths will pass the winter as pupae and emerge in the spring.
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