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Mating Blinded Sphinxes

Sphinx Moth?
Location: Connecticut shoreline
July 7, 2011 9:52 am
These two very large moths were mating in my garden in Clinton, CT. The larger of the two is almost 3” long (head to wing tip).
I thought they might be blinded sphinxes, but they don’t have the eye on the underwing.
Beautiful and interesting, but what???
Signature: Sincerely, Toni Leland

mating blinded sphinxes toni 232x300 Mating Blinded Sphinxes

Mating Blinded Sphinxes

Hi Toni,
You are correct.  They are mating Blinded Sphinxes, but the eyespot is covered until the underwings are revealed.  This is the third submission of Blinded Sphinxes we are posting today, and they seem to be eclosing from far and wide, including Washington State and Prince Edward Island, Canada.

2

Posted 07 July 2011 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Blinded Sphinx

Pleae help me identify this Moth.
Location: Vancouver, Washing-Pacific Northwest-USA
July 7, 2011 2:09 pm
I was sitting on my back patio when I noticed this creature clinging to my reataining wall. It’s about the size of a credit card if it was square, a tad bit wider. I do wonder if this thing could harm the plants around here. I have never seen anything like it in the 35 years I’ve lived here.
Thank you for your time!
Signature: Mary

blinded sphinx mary 300x269 Blinded Sphinx

Blinded Sphinx

Hi MAry,
This is a Blinded Sphinx and it will not harm your plants.  This is also the second photo of a Blinded Sphinx we posted today, and the earlier posting shows the eyespots on the underwings.

Posted 07 July 2011 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (1) °

Hummingbird Clearwing

Bug or Bird?
Location: Bucks County, PA
July 6, 2011 8:17 pm
My wife took some pics of this bizarre creature. She thought it was a hummingbird, but closer inspection of the pics reveal what looks like insect legs, antennae and a proboscis. She said it was bright orange, had a fast wingbeat and was able to hover about the flowers. It was about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in length and was not afraid of her getting close. We live in suburban Philadelphia and have no idea what this thing is as we have never seen anything like this before.
Signature: Jack

hemaris jack 2 300x219 Hummingbird Clearwing

Hummingbird Clearwing

Bird or Bug
Location: Philly
July 6, 2011 8:46 pm
I just sent you a photo of a hummingbird type bug. I have since found it online and identified it as a type of hummingbird moth called a hummingbird Clearwing. I never knew these type of insects existed!
Signature: Jack

hemaris jack 300x209 Hummingbird Clearwing

Hummingbird Clearwing

Hi Jack,
The differences between a hummingbird and one of the diurnal Sphinx Moths in the genus Hemaris are much more apparent in a photograph than they are while watching them as the flight patterns are so similar.  Both insect and bird are capable of hovering still while feeding from flowers.

Posted 07 July 2011 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (1) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Blinded Sphinx

A silk moth of some sort
July 6,2011
We believe this may be a silk moth of some sort. We live in Prince Edward Island.
I have several more photos of this beauty, if you would like them. With wings extended, it was around 3″+ from wingtip to wingtip. It was released peacefully.

blinded sphinx prince edward canada 300x257 Blinded Sphinx

Blinded Sphinx

We can’t help but to be amused that your Blinded Sphinx can be identified on the Sphingidae of Prince Edward Island website.

Thank you for getting back to me.
I am equally amused and dismayed that I did not find that site on my own, hehe. I am usually pretty good at web searching.
Thank you. icon smile Blinded Sphinx Both my son and myself have greatly enjoyed capturing (and releasing!) bugs and using your site to identify ones that confuse us a bit.

Posted 07 July 2011 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (1) °

West Virginia is Ground Zero for Giant Silk Moths

Giant silkworm moths

imperial moth dwayne 300x199 West Virginia is Ground Zero for Giant Silk Moths

Imperial Moth

Giant silkworm moths
Location: Ghent, WV
July 5, 2011 10:02 pm
Is it common to find 7 or 8 different types of giant silkworm moths, in one spot. I feel like I’m being over-run this week by them. You do not have enough upload slots for all the pics! Sending a few samples.
Signature: Regards, Dwayne

cecropia dwayne 300x206 West Virginia is Ground Zero for Giant Silk Moths

Cecropia Moth

Dear Dwayne,
This could hardly be called common, however, if conditions were right, it stands to reason that multiple species would eclose simultaneously.  Perhaps you have a strong light source near a woodland that is attracting the moths.  We just returned from a trip to Northeast Ohio and that included a brief road trip to Chester West Virginia to visit the Homer Laughlin Fiestaware factory which was awesome, and the surrounding hilly woods were beautiful in June.  Seems like a prime habitat for many Giant Silkworm Moths.  We would love to post your remaining photos.  Please attach the best of each species to this response and we (and our readers) would be very appreciative.  Perhaps you should consider ecotourism for your area.

luna dwayne 300x243 West Virginia is Ground Zero for Giant Silk Moths

Luna Moth

WV is Ground Zero – part II
Location: Ghent, WV
July 6, 2011 9:05 am
This is in reply to your request for the best pictures.
Yes, there are 2 mercury vapor lights on the property, but most of the moths seems attracted to the house. Funny thing is you can go out about every 1/2 hour and the moth that was there has been replaced by a different one. You can do this for about 2 to 3 hours a night. Critters and insects of all types. Note – the Hickory Horned Devil is laying eggs.
Signature: Regards, Dwayne

royal walnut moth dwayne 300x229 West Virginia is Ground Zero for Giant Silk Moths

Royal Walnut Moth laying Eggs

Hi again Dwayne,
Thanks so much for supplying us with additional images.  The Royal Walnut Moth laying eggs is a nice addition, and we just posted our first photo this year of the caterpillar of the species, the Hickory Horned Devil.  We especially love your photo of the male Io Moth who appears to be winking.

io winking dwayne 300x225 West Virginia is Ground Zero for Giant Silk Moths

Winking Male Io Moth

The blurry photo is a member of the genus Callosamia, and they can be difficult to distinguish from one another even if the images are sharp.  Our guess is a Tulip Tree Silkmoth, though we would not rule out a Prometheus Moth.  Thanks again for supplying us with this marvelous documentation which we have featured.  We are certain there are many young insect enthusiasts out there begging their parents to take them on a summer holiday to hilly West Virginia.

callosamia dwayne 300x185 West Virginia is Ground Zero for Giant Silk Moths

Callosamia species: Tulip Tree Silkmoth or Prometheus Moth???

Posted 06 July 2011 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Royal Walnut Moth

vibrant red/orange moth in Central Virginia
Location: Central Virginia
July 5, 2011 4:18 pm
Hey bugman, spotted this beauty in the drive through at Burger King. What kind of moth is it? Are they common for Virginia?
Signature: Ryan

royal walnut moth ryan 300x290 Royal Walnut Moth

Royal Walnut Moth

Hi Ryan,
This is a Royal Walnut Moth and they are not uncommon.

Thanks Daniel, some folks over at Reddit also found it for me. Since growing older I have forgotten how numerous the many wonders of this earth are, there were so many different moths that I could not ID it very quickly online

Posted 05 July 2011 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

One Eyed Sphinx from Canada

One-eyed Sphinx Moth
Location: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
July 4, 2011 3:16 pm
I noticed this male One-eyed Sphinx moth (or at least I’m reasonably sure that’s what it is) near the front door of the Nature Centre where I work this morning. I know you have plenty of pictures of these already, but I thought you’d probably be getting other questions about them around this time of year so I’m sending it along in case it’s useful. Thanks for the great site — I check it very regularly.
Signature: Diane

one eyed sphinx canada diane 300x212 One Eyed Sphinx from Canada

One Eyed Sphinx

Hi Diane,
We can always find room for beautiful photographs, and we are pleased to include your photo of a One Eyed Sphinx, Smerinthus cerisyi, in our archives.

Posted 05 July 2011 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Great Peacock Moth Caterpillar from France

Cecropia probably, but which one?
Location: South of France, Europe
July 4, 2011 5:04 pm
This afternoon in our allotment in the South of France (4 july 2011) we almost stepped on this gorgeous giant. I think that it’s possibly a member of the ”Cecropia”-family but ours seems to be yellower and has only cyan dots, no other colours. Can you tell us more?
Signature: Kristi

great peacock moth caterpillar france kristi 300x206 Great Peacock Moth Caterpillar from France

Great Peacock Moth Caterpillar

Hi Kristi,
We identified your caterpillar on the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site as the Great Peacock Moth, Saturnia pyri, and we are providing a link to the Saturniidae of Europe site on the species.  The range is listed as:  “Limited to the warmer areas of Europe and the Near East, from northern France (rare) south through Luxembourg, western Switzerland, the Iberian Peninsular to costal regions of Morocco and Algeria. Thence eastwards across southern Germany (rare), Austria, Hungary, the Balkans to the Ukraine. From here it extends southwards across the Caucasus Mountains and Armenia to Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Alborz and Zagros Mountains of Iran. It is also found on the Mediterranean islands of Crete, Corsica and Sardinia.”  Czechoslovakia issued a nice stamp of the moth and caterpillar in 1987.

saturnia pyri postage stamp ceskoslovensko 300x181 Great Peacock Moth Caterpillar from France

Postage stamp from Czechoslovakia

Romania also issued a stamp depicting this lovely moth.

saturnia pyri stamp romania 300x291 Great Peacock Moth Caterpillar from France

Postage Stamp from Romania

Dear Daniel
Thanks so much for the identification!
We’re lost in admiration for what you guys are pulling off: fantastic site, great service (also to the bugs;-)
Spend the whole evening browsing, oohh-ing and ahhh-ing and developing a guilty feeling about all the wasps I’ve send to wasp heaven (I promise, no more irrational killing)
thank you for the stamps too, they’re lovely.
keep up the good work,
many regards,
Kristi

Posted 04 July 2011 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

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