That scared life of me!
Location: Sliema, Malta
August 21, 2011 4:23 pm
Hi,
Could you please let me know what creature it is on the attached photo?
Since the photo has limited capabilities let me give you few more details.
It entered our apartment at night time (no lights, just an open window)
It had a wings span of approximately 15-20cm, length: 7-8cm, and when flying it was very fast and moving in a very chaotic motion.
Your help would be very much appreciated
Thank you in advance, John
Signature: John

Unknown Hawkmoth Carnage

Dear Staff,
Please help me with identifying the bug I sent you. I have tried to do my reaserch in the Internet but without success.
My wife wants to sleep with closed windows in this 32°C heat here in Malta, because she is scared that this creature will come again. So I need to figure this bug out soon.
I appreciate your time. THANK YOU!!!
Best regards,
John

Hi John,
This harmless Hawkmoth in the family Sphingidae looks perfectly dead, and your wife need not fear its resurrection.  In our opinion, this death was preventable, and we are tagging this posting as Unnecessary Carnage. 

Moth that looks like a leaf?
Location: Oklahoma City
August 23, 2011 8:32 am
This moth is on my house, right outside the front door. It’s very cool, looks like oak leaves! What is it called?
Signature: Elizabeth

Walnut Sphinx

Hi Elizabeth,
This interesting moth is a Walnut Sphinx, Amorpha juglandis.  You can verify our identification on the Sphingidae of the Americas website.

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scary giant moth
Location: san diego … my dresser
August 23, 2011 12:14 am
Dear Bugman,
What I consider to be a very large moth flew into my room tonight and seems to have no immediate plans to leave. This is unfortunate because I cannot sleep with him over on my dresser… staring at me. I live in San Diego, and it is mid-October. Knowing what kind of moth he is won’t get him out of my room, but it will help with the details of my Facebook posts about this little intruder.
Signature: sandi

Carolina Sphinx

Hi Sandi,
Though California is far from the tobacco growing Carolinas, you are still within the range of Manduca sexta, also commonly called the Carolina Sphinx or Tobacco Hornworm for the caterpillar.  In California, the large green caterpillars with a caudal horn are frequently found feeding on the leaves of cultivated tomato plants, though they also feed on native jimsonweed and other members of the nighshade family.  You can read additional information on the Carolina Sphinx on the Sphingidae of the Americas website.  The distinctively marked abdomen with six pairs of yellow spots is not visible in your photograph.  P.S.  It is currently August.  Is this an old event?

Ha! I could try to say the October/August issue was because of autocorrect on my phone, but nope. I’m just completely confused about the month. I guess they both start with a soft “o” sound kind of. The picture was taken last night, mid-August.     I wanted to ask the moth to spread his wings for the picture, so I could see his abdomen, but he kind of freaked me out, so I passed. He finally flew back out the door at about 2:30am.  He seemed to fly from wall to another, not gracefully . . .like headfirst, top speed into one wall, then another. Poor guy had to have a concussion by the time he left.
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!
Sandi

Sphinx Moths are powerful fliers, fast and with endurance, and quite beautiful in flight when they are not obstructed.   Apparently they are not good at figuring mazes.

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Need help to identify a bug
Location: Bangalore, India
August 22, 2011 7:39 am
I took snaps of this bug which was sitting on my terrace. I found the shape of the wing very interesting, so I would appreciate if you could help me identifying this.
Signature: Rajesh Ranjan

Theretra lycetus

Dear Rajesh,
The wing shape and body structure of your moth is very typical of the family Sphingidae, the Sphinx Moths or Hawkmoths, to which it belongs.  We believe this is a Yam Hawkmoth, Theretra nessus, and you may compare your individual to the photos on the Sphingidae of Hawaii webpage which indicates its typical range includes India, or the Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic website.  We have a previous image of this species from Hawaii on our site, but it has been introduced to Hawaii where it is not native.

Ed Note:  August 26, 2011
After an exchange of comments, we now agree that this is not a Yam Hawkmoth, but the closely related Theretra lycetus from the same genus.

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