butterfly?
Location: Northern Illinois
August 5, 2011 11:09 pm
I have not seen this type of bug before and am thinking it’s a butterfly or some sort. It’s wings beat very rapidly to the point I couldn’t see them when it was in flight. It seemed hover to drink nectar from ”butterfly bushes” vs actually land. I would guess the body was 1 1/2 – 2 inches long. I took these pics myself 8/5/11.
Signature: ~Pam
Snowberry Clearwing
Hi Pam,
This is a diurnal Sphinx Moth in the genus Hemaris, and they are frequently mistaken for hummingbirds. Of the three similar species in the genus reported from Illinois, we believe yours is Hemaris diffinis, commonly called the Snowberry Clearwing or Bumblebee Moth. You can read more about this species on the Sphingidae of the Americas website. Your lovely photos show the dark legs and mask through the eye that we used as characteristics to determine the species.
Snowberry Clearwing
strange moth
Location: near Macon, GA
August 4, 2011 3:39 pm
I saw this moth outside my house yesterday (Aug 4 2011). I’ve never seen one before (having lived in the area for nearly a decade) and was hoping you could help me identify it. The back part of it is especially odd to me; it reminds me of a spinal column almost. The pictures are cropped to limit size, but hopefully they offer enough detail for you to be able to tell.
Signature: J
Unknown Moth
Dear J,
We tried and we failed. Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck trying to identify this unusual moth.
Unknown Moth
Thanks to a comment, we now know that this is a Erythrina Borer, Terastia meticulosalis, and we verified that on BugGuide, but other than a food plant for the larva and a range that includes some southern states, we did not learn much else. Erythrina is the genus name for a group of trees we have always called Coral Trees, and since some species are native to the warmer states, the moth might also be native. We also located a link to a technical paper written in 1922 by O. H. Swezey, entitled The Erythrina Twig-Borer (Terastia meticulosalis) in Hawaii (Pyralidae, Lepidoptera). Here is a citation from that paper: “Dyar, in Journal of the New York Ent. Soc, IX, 21, 1901, describes the larva from Erythrina herbacea in southern Florida, and says: ‘The larva is an internal feeder, boring in the younger stems which it completely hollows out, killing them. When the plant is in early flower, the young flower heads are often killed and webbed up into a foul mass by this larva. Spins a large webby cocoon in the ground.’”
6
Great Tiger Moth
Location: Bonney Lake, WA
August 3, 2011 3:13 pm
Hello WTB,
Last week I sent you pictures of a Blinded Sphinx Moth I found. Today to my delight my mom spotted this gorgeous beauty on the side of our house. Like the Sphinx, this moth seemed comfortable sitting in my hand and I got a few good pictures that I thought you might enjoy! I only found one other on your site, so here’s more for your collection.
Signature: Amy
Great Tiger Moth
Hi Amy,
Though we actually have multiple images of Great Tiger Moths, Arctia caja, buried in our archives, we always love posting high quality new images. The Great Tiger Moth is found in Eurasia as well as North America. Like many other Tiger Moths, the Great Tiger Moth does not feed as an adult.
Great Tiger Moth
2
Mothra!
Location: Spring Valley, AR
August 4, 2011 2:00 am
Came across this moth two days ago, landed on me so i snapped a picture.
no idea what kind largest i’ve seen in our area.
Signature: Ty
Luna Moth
Hello Ty,
One of our favorite yearly activities is to mark the advent of spring using Luna Moth sightings across its range. According to BugGuide: “In the United States this species has been found in every state east of the Great Plains” and there is “One brood in the north, May-July. Three broods in the south, March-September.” Each year, our earliest sightings generally come from Texas and Florida, and by June, we are getting reports from Maine and Canada as warm weather hits the northern latitudes. While the spring brood tends to provide us with the most sightings in the south, we also like to indicate later broods, and your letter is the first we have posted of a later southern brood.
2
What is this?
Location: Northwest Indiana
August 2, 2011 8:33 am
We found this, I’m assuming it a moth of some kind on our screen door after a storm
Signature: Shirley
Pandora Sphinx
Dear Shirley,
This beautifully patterned moth is a Pandora Sphinx, Eumorpha pandorus. Should you desire more information, you can search its name on our search engine, or click the thumbnails beneath this posting (on our website, not on the email) or visit the Sphingidae of the Americas website.
DARTH VADER? CHIC IN BROWN
Location: TONASKET, WA
July 31, 2011 10:29 pm
I THOUGHT WITH SUCH AN UNUSUAL MOTH, IT WOULD BE EASY TO FIND! HA HA. BUPKIS, NADA, ZILCH. NOT MANY HAVE THIS FLAT FACE. I COULDN’T EVEN FIGURE OUT A FAMILY. I TOOK THIS AROUND THE 10TH OF JULY.I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE HIS REAL NAME. A THOUSAND THANK YOUS FOR ALL YOUR HELP. AND DEDICATION. AND FUN!
Signature: CATHY
Unknown Moth
Hi Cathy,
We agree that this is such an unusual looking moth, however, we do not recognize. We are unable to take the time this morning to research its identity, however, we will post your image and letter and we hope one of our readers will be able to supply an answer.
Unknown Moth
Bug identification
Location: Koh Samui
August 1, 2011 2:56 am
Hi guys,
found this rather amazing creature on the small airport of Koh Samui, on the last day of our vacation (30th of July). It was dead when we found it. Was quite big (maybe 5 cm long). Hope you can shed some light on the nature of this thing 
Signature: Niels Matthijs
Oleander Hawkmoth
Hi Niels,
This is an Oleander Hawkmoth, Deilephila nerii, and because it is a strong flier, its range has increased in recent years due to the cultivation of its food plant, oleander, in gardens that have a mild climate. We needed to do our research to learn that Koh Samui is an island off Thailand. You can read more about the Oleander Hawkmoth on the Sphingidae of the Americas website where the species is included because it has been introduced to Hawaii.
Moth? on Evening Primrose
Location: Bedford, VA
July 31, 2011 3:56 pm
This moth is visiting an evening primrose. This was happening after dark Bedford, VA during July after the evening primrose had blossomed out. It blooms out about in about a half hour after sunset and the moth is seen after dark. I thought it to be a hawk moth but could not specifically identify. Note the long beak.
Signature: Ben Shrader
Five Spotted Hawkmoth
Hi Ben,
What a positively marvelous photo of a Five Spotted Hawkmoth, Manduca quinquemaculata, nectaring from an Evening Primrose. The Five Spotted Hawkmoth is also called the Tomato Hornworm in the larval stage, and you might have found these large, green caterpillars with a caudal horn. We had a bit of difficulty with this identification because the namesake yellow spots are ont visible because of the angle of the wings. You can view The Sphingidae of the Americas for more information.
Thanks, I have several on a distribution list in which at least one of them had identified as you but this confirms with confidence.
Ben Shrader
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