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Flightless female Winter Moth, we believe

maybe coming from our fireplace?
Location: watertown, ma
December 1, 2011 3:12 pm
hi there, we keep finding these bugs crawling around our bedroom… we saw one sticking it’s little head out of our fireplace & thought maybe that’s where they are gaining entry.
they seem to just come in & die & some of the dead ones have flourescent green puss/blood…
Signature: thanks or your help! – mary

winter moth mary 300x265 Flightless female Winter Moth, we believe

Winter Moth: Flightless Female

Hi Mary,
Though your photo is not sharp, we are relatively certain this is the flightless female of the invasive exotic Winter Moth, Operophtera brumata, a European species that has become established in North America.  Here is a previous posting of a Winter Moth from our archive, and you may also find images and information on BugGuide where it has been reported in Massachusetts.

Thank you so much! We thought it looked like a moth, but were thrown by the lack of wings… What a relief to know our home is safe, at least, feel a little bad for our perennials though.
Thanks again!

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Posted 04 December 2011 § Geometrid Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Oleander Hawkmoth from Afghanistan

A hard looking moth
Location: Kabul, Afghanistan
December 1, 2011 12:24 am
Hi,
I spotted this outside my room in Kabul.
It’s starting to freeze now which is why I guess he’s static.
He lloks like he could tackle the Taliban
Signature: Umph

oleander hawkmoth afghanistan 300x238 Oleander Hawkmoth from Afghanistan

Oleander Hawkmoth

Dear Umph,
In the past, sometimes our readers have described Hawkmoths as looking like stealth bombers.  Your Hawkmoth is an Oleander Hawkmoth.

1

Posted 03 December 2011 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Marbled Emperor from South Africa

moths
Location: kwazulu natal midlands, south africa
November 24, 2011 4:54 am
Please could you identify – I have been told perhaps a Southern Marbled Emperor, although the markings are slightly different to the photos already on your site (eg. no grey line through head). We live in natural grassland in Kwazulu Natal Midlands, South Africa. We see loads of these on our outside house walls in the summer. Size 10 – 15cms wingspan.
Signature: don’t mind

marbled emperor south africa 300x177 Marbled Emperor from South Africa

Marbled Emperor

Dear don’t mind.
The reason your moth looks so similar to the Southern Marbled Emperor already posted on our site is that it is in the same genus.  We believe your moth is the Marbled Emperor, Heniocha dyops, which is pictured on the African Moths website.

Bill Oehlke confirms correction submitted in comment by Ryan
Heniocha marnois
Bill Oehlke

Ed. Note:  We found a couple of links with images of Heniocha marnois, including National Geographic.  Interestingly, though the scientific name is different, the common name Marbled Emperor is the same for multiple species in the genus.  The Saturniidae of the World website has photos of mounted specimens.

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Posted 24 November 2011 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (3) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Giant Silkmoth from Peru: Copaxa medea

Photos from Off the Grid in Peru
Location: Sacred Valley, Peru, November 2011
November 22, 2011 1:48 pm
Heya Bug Guy! It’s been awhile since I have submitted photos and I owe you a giant thank you for your awesome website! THANK YOU!! I have a few photos for you today. First is what I believe to be a Silkmoth. They’re very common in the Sacred Valley of Peru and have a 4” wingspan. Second, I’ve a little green Crab Spider snacking on an unsuspecting Honeybee! He carried the bee around all day….I got the impression the spider bit off more than he could chew and wasn’t sure how to get his catch to the dinner table! Lastly, I believe is a Running or Giant Crab Spider. Every morning, I find one in my sink. Well, today I forgot and he took a sudsy bath in dishwater. I gently rinsed him, then very tenderly dried him in a towel where he embedded his fangs. I am happy to report that 3 hours later, he is up and running, good as new! And clean! Thanks again, you are my favorite resource as I learn Entomology!
Signature: Off The Grid in Peru

copaxa medea peru 300x189 Giant Silkmoth from Peru: Copaxa medea

Giant Silkmoth: Copaxa medea

Dear Off The Grid in Peru,
We are thrilled to get your marvelous images.  We are only posing the photo of the Giant Silkmoth at the moment because we do not like postings with multiple species unless they are logically combined.  We hope we will have time to format your other images as well.  We believe we have correctly identified your Giant Silkmoth at Copaxa medea based on photos posted to the Kirby Wolfe Saturniidae Collection website.

Posted 23 November 2011 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Wasp Mimic Tiger Moth from Costa Rica

upload size/offer of pictures
Location: Costa Rica, Alajuela, Atena, barrio Güísaro; hillside, semi-rural, 860m alt.
October 28, 2011 2:09 pm
Hi, quick question. I tried & failed repeatedly to upload 3 pics of about 2.8 – 3 MB each. What’s your size limit for uploads?
Thanks, Claudia Leon
Apparently one can’t just ask a tech question. Ok. I’ll attach one picture and see what happens. Here’s my text from my earlier failed attempts:
Dear Bugman,
unless I’m horribly mistaken (wouldn’t be the first time) these pictures show a specimen of the wasp-mimicking tiger moth, Isanthrene crabroniformis, Arciidae.
If you think they could be useful as reference material, I’d like to donate them to your database. If not, just delete.
It was resting on my patio table, before flying off to parts unknown. We live just outside the town of Atenas in the Central Valley.
Best,
Signature: Photolera Claudinha

isanthrene crabroniformis costa rica claudia 300x271 Wasp Mimic Tiger Moth from Costa Rica

Wasp Mimic Tiger Moth

Dear Photolera Claudinha,
We apologize for both the technical problems you had and the delay.  We have been busy lately and we are behind in answering our mail, as usual.  We were going back through unanswered letters to locate a different email and we noticed the swarm of emails from you that were unopened, and we are pleased to post a few of your images of Isanthrene crabroniformis which is represented in our archive in a previous posting.  These moths are very effective wasp mimics.

isanthrene crabroniformis costa rica claudia 2 300x218 Wasp Mimic Tiger Moth from Costa Rica

Wasp Mimic Tiger Moth

Correction courtesy of Karl
Hi Daniel and Photolera Claudinha:
You are very close but I don’t think Isanthrene crabroniformis is quite correct. There are a few closely related and very similar looking species, and I believe this one may be Isanthrene cazador. Here is another site you can check out. Regards. Karl

Thanks for the correction Karl.

Hi Daniel & Karl,
Thanks, this is most interesting. Which characteristics point toward I. cazador, rather than I. crabroniformis? I’m afraid, I don’t have the necessary tools & reference material to detect details.
I appreciate your instructions! P. Claudinha

We will let Karl provide input on your newest question.  We detect a difference in the stripes on the body that supports Karl’s identification.

 

Posted 12 November 2011 § Tiger Moths and Arctiids ‡ Comments (2) °

Mournful Sphinx

Mystery Sphinx Moth?
Location: Eatonton GA (Middle GA)
November 10, 2011 10:42 am
Good morning!
I found this moth in my freshly picked beans. It flutters its wings much like a hummingbird type moth – the wings never stopped all the time I had him. He was found 11/10/11 in Middle GA in the vegetable garden and fortunately announced his presence and didn’t inadvertently become a photo in the Carnage section of the site…
Signature: Dixie Gardener

lettered sphinx dixie 300x210 Mournful Sphinx

Mournful Sphinx

Hi Dixie Gardener,
This little Sphinx is a Mournful Sphinx, Enyo lugubris, and you may read more about it on the Sphingidae of the Americas website.

Thank you so much Daniel! What a cool moth – we have such a variety here. But I wish they ate cucumber beetles…

1

Posted 11 November 2011 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Tiger Moth from Tanzania

Mahale Mountains Moth
Location: Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania
November 10, 2011 9:00 am
Dear Daniel
I took this picture in February, in the morning, in Mahale Mountains National Park- Tanzania. I would love to know what genus (or species) this animal belongs to. This beautiful moth was rather slow moving.
kind regards
Teena
Signature: Teena

saturniid tanzania teena 300x212 Tiger Moth from Tanzania

Unknown Moth from Tanzania

Dear Teena,
We are going to seek some assistance from Bill Oehlke for this identification.  Your moth reminds us of the Royal Walnut Moth or Regal Moth, Citheronia regalis, from North America (see BugGuide), however, to the best of our knowledge, that genus and subfamily are not found in Africa.

HI Daniel thanks very much for trying, I thought maybe it was from the family Ctenuchinae, but that was as far as I could get and then I wasn’t really sure.  If it is possible I would love to know.  Warm regards Teena
Teena Payne
The Infinite Horizon

How large was this moth Teena?

Hi Daniel, I reckon about 2cm-ie wing/head length.  Kind regards Teena

Bill Oehlke provides a correction
November 11, 2011
HI Daniel,
A pretty moth but I do not know what it is. It is not a Saturniidae.
Bill Oehlke

Hi again Teena,
We are going to check with Arctiid expert Julian Donahue next to verify if this is a Tiger Moth as you suspected.  Julian may be exploring some exotic land right now, so his response may be delayed.

Julian Donahue provides some taxonomy
November 14, 2011
Nice moth! Formerly placed in the mostly African family Thyretidae, but this group has recently been considered a part of the subfamily Syntominae of the Arctiidae (or the tribe Syntomini of the subfamily Arctiinae of the family Noctuidae, if you follow the recent extreme lumping of the tiger moths with the “millers”).
The moth appears to belong to the genus Balacra or the genus Metarctia, both of which have several species recorded from Tanzania. Some of those species are relatively recently described, and I do not have at hand any of the pertinent references to key out a specimen (if indeed I had a specimen in hand).
Sorry I couldn’t be any more specific.
Julian

Dear Daniel and Julian… many thanks for your efforts…I wish I had taken more pictures of this animal- especially since it was very compliant! In all the time I was in Mahale this was the only one I ever saw.  kind regards Teena

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Posted 10 November 2011 § Tiger Moths and Arctiids ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Polka-Dot Wasp Moth

Spotted black/blue insect with a red bottom
Location: Florida
November 7, 2011 11:36 pm
Hello, my brother and I found this bug the other day. We took a picture of it because we thought it looked pretty. I’m still wondering what species it is. My friend told me that it was a solitary wasp of some kind, but he isn’t sure.
If it helps, there were some caterpillars hanging around our front yard, and my brother guessed it came from those. The caterpillars looked orange and fuzzy, and they were in a big group. Also, it could barely fly. I don’t know if it was just that one insect that had the problem, though. We haven’t seen any more of them around.
Thanks.
Signature: Lily

polkadot wasp moth lily 300x212 Polka Dot Wasp Moth

Polka-Dot Wasp Moth

Dear Lily,
This is a Polka-Dot Wasp Moth, Syntomeida epilais, and you were astute to draw the connection between it and the orange caterpillars that are most likely feeding on oleander.  Your friend is not alone in mistaking this moth for a wasp.  It is believe that the harmless moth has evolved to mimic a stinging wasp for protection.

Posted 08 November 2011 § Tiger Moths and Arctiids ‡ Comments (0) °

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