giant moth
August 29, 2009
My daughter found this large moth in our screened in pool area. It is about 2 inches long. It has some pink when it spreads it wings. We have never seen anything like it and would love to know what it is.
Diane Nguyen
Ocala, FL
probably Pawpaw Sphinx
Hi Diane,
This is a Sphinx Moth, and we believe the species is the Pawpaw Sphinx, Dolba hyloeus. Of all the moths listed for Florida on Bill Oehlke’s awesome website, this seems the best match. There is a shot of the belly of the species on BugGuide, and that also looks close to your specimen. We are copying Bill Oehlke on this response to see if he can verify our identification.
probably Pawpaw Sphinx
What kind of moth is this?
August 28, 2009
I found this cute moth in a shady spot outside. it has red on its wings.
what kind of moth is it?
Ducky and Red Bear
NM
Underwing Moth
Dear Ducky and Red Bear,
This is an Underwing Moth in the genus Catocala, but we have difficult distinguishing individual species. Perhaps a reader can supply a species identification. We believe it might be The Sweetheart, Calocala amatrix, based on images posted to BugGuide.
Zephyr Eyed Silkmoth pic
August 29, 2009
Thanks for the caterpillar ID! I have a nice pic of a silkmoth in full, angry display. Can you pass it along to BugGuide? He says on the site that he doesn’t have a pic of one displaying.
Mike
Edgewood, New Mexico, 7000′ pinion forest
Zephyr Eyed Silkmoth
Hi Mike,
Thanks for sending us a photo of the adult Zephyr Eyed Silkmoth, Automeris zephyria, to accompany the caterpillar images your sent us the other day. Here at What’s That Bug? our editorial staff posts all of the letters and images to our site individually, while BugGuide has postings initiated by the readership. Right now, the time it would take us to submit a posting to BugGuide on your behalf would prevent us from posting letters to our own site, depriving our readership of several new letters and depriving our own querants from seeing their letters online. If time permits in the future, we will try to post your letter to BugGuide, but for now, it will be on the internet at our own site.
Luna Moth laying eggs
August 28, 2009
Thought you might be interested in seeing the coloration of this Luna just after laying her eggs.
Boyd
A little East of Shreveport, LA
Luna Moth laying Eggs
Hi Boyd,
We are very excited to post your image of a Luna Moth laying eggs.
What type of moth is this? Found in Texas
August 25, 2009
I found this moth clinging to the inside of my door. I put it gently outside, later it found its way back into the house. I have never seen anything like it. It did not seem to want to fly.
Yvonne , Jeremy and Isla
Texas
Giant Leopard Moth
Hi Yvonne, Jeremy and Isla,
This is a Giant Leopard Moth or Eyed Tiger Moth, Hypercompe scribonia. Many Tiger Moths do not eat as adults and they are attracted to lights. Though we don’t get Eyed Tiger Moths at our Los Angeles offices, we do get a relative known as the Painted Arachnis. Each year they are attracted to the porch lights and lay eggs on the wooden siding. The furry caterpillars, known as Woolly Bears, hatch and disperse where they are general feeders. According to BugGuide, Giant Leopard Moth “larvae feed on a great variety of broad-leaved plants, including banana, cabbage, cherry, dandelion, maple, orange, sunflower, violet, willow.“
Bug Love: Hera Buckmoths
August 25, 2009
Hi Lisa Anne and Daniel. As you can imagine, I was quite pleased today to find these mating Hera Buckmoths on the ranch of my friends Bart and Gay Lynn Byrd. I hope you enjoy them also.
The improvements to your site are great 
Peace
Dwaine
north of Glenrock, WY
Mating Hera Buckmoths
Hi Dwaine,
Thanks so much for sending your awesome photos of mating Hera Buckmoths. We are copying our webmaster who just spent an entire work week on our site improvements. We dumped all of our revenue into a new server and we are thrilled with the new found speed.
Mating Hera Buckmoths
What kind of moth is this?
August 24, 2009
We found this moth at a lake in northern Wyoming. It has very feathery antennas. White wings with black spots. Its abdomen is white and black striped, with a fuzzy orange head and thorax. My images are not real clear. Thank you.
Allison
northern Wyoming
Hera Buck Moth
Hi Allison,
This is some species of Buck Moth in the genus Hemileuca, possibly the Hera Buckmoth, Hemileuca hera. You can see if the photos posted to BugGuide match your moth.
Almost artful display
August 24, 2009
Me and my wife were on the way to the hospital to get some metal stitches pulled from me tummy from a hernia surgery, and seeing as we had the nikon tagging along with us in the backpack, decided to go by the fountain situated in front of BLDG 2 at the Bill Hefner VA Hospital in Salisbury, NC. We truly couldn’t have come at a better time as as soon as we arrived there was also a pair of grasshoppers prolonging the species as it were. I almost thought it necessary to recommend a hotel, LOL! I will be probably be adding another post here since I truly don’t know where this other insect I found falls into the category. Several Butterflies (Swallowtails and others) were showing off before us along with the random wood boring bee.
This insect is approximately 9/16″ to 5/8″ in length and was kinda slow in moving selectively extracting pollen, and almost playing dead when we got too close. It has some markings that almost look as if someone had attempted to paint small flowers on each side… Absolutely stunning when you can zoom in. Let me know what this litter bugger is, me and my wife are dying to know!!!
Amateur Photographer, Can you tell?
VA Hospital, Salisbury, NC Next to waterfall
Ailanthus Webworm Moth
Dear Amateur Photographer,
This moth is known as an Ailanthus Webworm, but sadly, it only eats the leaves of the Ailanthus, or Tree of Heaven, and it doesn’t do much to remove this scourge from North America.
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Posted 24 August 2009
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Beautiful green moth
August 21, 2009
I found this unusually large moth in July. It was 4 inches from tip to tip with green wings and gold antenna. Unfortunately, it was barely alive and died shortly after.
Peter
Central Virginia
Luna Moth: Dead of Natural Causes
Hi Peter,
This is a Luna Moth, what most people consider to be the most beautiful North American moth. At any rate, it is the most distinctive North American moth, and is not likely to be confused with any other native species by even the least observant individual. Luna Moths do not feed as adults and only live a few days, long enough to mate and lay eggs. Thanks for providing us with a view of the underside of the moth, a vantage we rarely receive.
Luna Moth: Dead of Old Age
red beetle with white flower-like spots
August 20, 2009
I found this beauty on a table on my side porch. I live in the woods next to a reservoir in northern NJ. Any idea what this is?
Kerri
Boonton, NJ
- Ailanthis Webworm Moth
Hi Kerri,
The caterpillar of the Ailanthus Webworm Moth, Atteva punctella eats the leaves of the dreaded Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus altissima. This noxious weed tree, a native of China, is invading native forest land from coast to coast. It has long been a fixture in cities especially in areas of urban blight where it thrives. It is the tree from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the novel by Betty Smith. Sadly the Ailanthus Webworm only eats the leaves of the tree and this does no lasting damage. We would live to find an insect that bores into the trunks or roots and destroys the plant. We believe the Ailanthus Tree might be the most dangerous invasive exotic plant to the native North American ecosystem. Once it becomes established, it takes over, crowding out all other species. You photo is quite beautiful.
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Posted 21 August 2009
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red moth?
August 20, 2009
Found this moth in house. Red body and legs, black tail with light blue dots.
Thank you Jeanette
Louisiana
- Scarlet Bodied Wasp Moth
Hi Jeanette,
Most people who write in requesting and identification of a Scarlet Bodied Wasp Moth, Cosmosoma myrodora, don’t realize it is a moth because it is such a convincing wasp mimic. According to BugGuide: “These moths display warning coloration, yet the caterpillars host on non-toxic Climbing Hempweed, Mikania scandens, (family Asteraceae), a weedy vine at field margins and roadsides that can completely obscure bushes and small trees. The adult male moth extracts toxins known as “pyrrolizidine alkaloids” from Dogfennel Eupatorium (Eupatorium capillifolium) and showers these toxins over the female prior to mating. This is the only insect known to transfer a chemical defense in this way.“
Polyphemus Moth
August 17, 2009
While on vacation, i found this Polyphemus moth hanging around one of the buildings in the resort i was staying at. every morning i would walk around the buildings looking for moths. and each day i would usually find 5 or 6 large silk moths. this one was on the same building each day, but always in a different place. i saw this one for about a week and it was in good shape, so i took pictures. i picked him up every time and carried him around that building looking for more, and put him back where i found him before moving to the next building. its alway fun getting the ” wow look at that bug” or “dude you have a bug on your shirt.” moths have fascinated me since i was little. especially the larger silk moths.
Zach
Kissimmee, Florida
Polyphemus Moth
Hi Zach,
Thanks for sending us your nice letter and wonderful photograph of a Polyphemus Moth.
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