Cross shaped Bug
Location: Groton CT 06340
November 7, 2011 12:21 am
I found a bug that interested me. I found it on my front door around 9pm early October. I took a picture of it because i had never seen one before. It is shaped like the letter ” T ”. Light brown in color. I almost touched it with my finger, i must have been a few centimeters from it and yet, it did not move. Not even when i opened my door, it just stayed there. I would like to know what it is just to satisfy my curiosity. Learning new things is fun for me. So i thank you ahead of time for your efforts in getting me the name of this bug and any other cool facts about it. Thank you.
Signature: Jager
Plume Moth
Dear Jager,
Many people who want a Plume Moth from the family Pterophoridae identified describe it as a T-Bug.
moth
Location: Bermagui NSW
November 6, 2011 5:40 pm
Can you please ID this moth. She came in on Nov 1st, laid her eggs on the back of my chair then stayed till she died 5 days later, sad.But what is she?
Signature: Sue
Hawkmoth from Australia
Hi Sue.
We strongly feel this is a Hawkmoth in the family Spingidae, however a species identification is eluding us. We started searching Butterfly House, and the two best candidates there are the Australian Privet Hawkmoth, Psilogramma casuarinae, and Synoecha marmorata. The former has the dark markings on the thorax, and the latter has closer wing markings. Csiro has this image of the latter. The Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic website has this to say about Psilogramma increta: “Reliably recorded from northeastern China, Japan and Korea, south and east through China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Peninsular Malaysia, to the Greater Sunda Islands; then west through Burma/Myanmar, Nepal and India to Kashmir. It is possible that P. increta extends much further east through the Malay Archipelago and may even reach Australia and the Pacific islands. However, in these latter areas, the features of adult wing colour and pattern that farther west differentiate P. increta from the closely related species, P. menephron, break down and it becomes impossible to reliably distinguish them on this basis. The two species are also identical in genital structure. Mell (1922b) described diagnostic features of larvae and pupae but these have yet to be investigated in eastern populations of Psilogramma.” Perhaps one of our readers will be able to assist in this difficult identification.
Update and Correction
Thanks to a comment from Ryan, we now realize this Hawkmoth imposter is actually a Wattle Goat Moth, one of the Wood Moths in the family COSSIDAE.
moth id
Location: South Coast NSW Australia
November 1, 2011 9:45 am
can you id this moth for me.
Thanks Bugman, from Frosty
Signature: Frosty
Coprosma Hawkmoth
Hi Frosty,
Finding the correct identification for your Hawkmoth in the family Sphingidae proved a bit of a challenge for us this morning, but we finally identified your Coprosma Hawkmoth, Cizara ardeniae, when we found a match on the Butterfly Housewebsite. We also found some photos of the Coprosma Hawkmoth from 2009 in our archives. The Coprosma Hawkmoth appeared on an Australian postage stamp in 1991. The stamp is used to picture this species on Csiro.
Australian Postage Stamp 1991
G’day Daniel 
Mega thanks for your great detective work,.,one last thing now I know the critters name.
Is the Coprosma Hawkmoth, Cizara ardeniae a commonly occurring moth or is it an endangered species.
I live in Sanctuary Point, about 230 klm south of Sydney.
I haven’t seen this moth before.
I normally feed most moths to my wild bird visitors, but not if it is rare.
We believe it probably falls between common and endangered.
large gray moth
Location: Florida
November 1, 2011 11:45 am
We saw this large moth on a barrier island beach in central Florida in late August, it appeared to be resting (on a sign post), had no color that we could see even when it fluttered – maybe about 3 inches long – what could it be? Thank you.
Signature: icegull
Tetrio Sphinx Moth
Dear icegull,
This is a Sphinx Moth or Hawkmoth in the family Sphingidae. We are having difficulty finding a match on the excellent Sphingidae of the Americas website despite browsing through the species reported from Florida. It looks similar to the Catalpa Sphinx, Ceratomia catalpae, but not exactly. We will try to contact Bill Oehlke to see if he can provide a species name for us.
Bill Oehlke responds
HI Daniel,
It is a female Pseudosphinx tetrio, The Tetrio Sphinx. The female is considerably paler than the male.
Can you have the person who submitted image contact me for image use and more precise location?
Thanks.
Thank you so much and thanx for the link to the website. I saw a Black Witch Moth in July for the 1st time, and when I saw this guy it peaked my curiosity about moths in general. I’m already a birder so moths & butterflies & insects in general are the next frontier. Unlike birds tho I did have to do some digging to find sources that were user friendly & helpful, then I found you guys. I look forward to which sphinx it is. Thanx again.
Permission to use pix granted. It was seen August 19th this year at Ft Desoto Park within the bird sanctuary (along the beach), south Pinellas County, Florida. Thank you so much!
Luna Moth
Location: Tarpon Springs, Florida
October 28, 2011 8:58 am
Dear bugman,
We had a visit from a luna month this morning. Is it common to see them in Tarpon Springs, Florida? I live in Tampa but work here and I have never seen one of these before!
Signature: Amber
Luna Moth
Hi Amber,
The thing about Luna Moths is that they are quite common in parts of their range and noticeably absent from other parts of their range. We don’t know how frequently they are sighted in Tarpon Springs.
Moth in the Everglades
Location: Everglades, Florida
October 24, 2011 9:09 pm
Hello, I took this photo while on a slog through the Everglades (mid-October). Could you help me identify it?
Signature: Jim Poyser
Mournful Sphinx
Hi Jim,
Your somber moth, Enyo lugubris, goes by the common name the Mournful Sphinx. The Sphingidae of the Americas website is always a great place to identify Sphinx Moths from the family Sphingidae. The species is found in the southernmost portions of North America as well as the tropics of Central and South America. According to BugGuide, it is found in “Forests, edges, presumably.”
moth
Location: NZ Taupo bush
October 18, 2011 1:56 pm
Hi Bugman,
I am in NZ and have never seen a moth this size before. I was Hunting out of taupo when this moth decided to land on the back of my neck. I thought the world was about to end….can you tell me what sort of moth it is?
Signature: stevo
Puriri Moth
Hi Stevo,
This is one of the Puriri Moths in the Ghost Moth family Hepialidae. You can compare your individual to this image on New Zealand Tramper. The Insects and Spiders of New Zealand website profiles the species Aenetus virescens and indicates that “is the largest moth in Aotearoa / New Zealand, and is found only on Te Ika a Māui / North Island.” There seems to be much variation in the coloration of Puriri Moths posted online, and we are not exactly certain if there are different species or just variation within a single species. The Insects and Spiders of New Zealand website also provides this information: “relatives live in Australia, New Caledonia, and Papua New Guinea; caterpillars start life living in a bracket fungus; older caterpillars make a refuge tunnel in the trunk of a large tree; caterpillars feed on the wound tissue of the tree around the tunnel entrance, which is concealed by a silken ‘tent’; pupation occurs in the tunnel; adult moths do not feed, and live only for a few days; moths are active at night.”
What kind of moth is this?? VERY PRETTY!
Location: Ramona, CA
October 21, 2011 4:10 pm
This moth got into my house a few nights ago(10/17/2011) in Ramona, CA. I came inside and found it on my lamp shade. Took a picture and let him go. Could you tell me what it is? I’ve been looking for something like it online and haven’t had any luck. It’s a very beautiful creature!
Thanks!
Signature: ~Mrs. D
Painted Tiger Moth
Dear Mrs. D,
Your moth is Arachnis picta, commonly called a Painted Tiger Moth.
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