White moth with blue and black spots
Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 8:30 AM
I found this in northwest Louisiana close to the TX border about a month ago I think he was on his last leg. I was able to pick him up and move him out of harms way. I looked through your moth section and found no pics. I’d like to know what he is.
LaTonia
NW Louisiana near Texas border

Giant Leopard Moth

Of LaTonia,
Of the four identification requests for the Giant Leopard Moth,  Hypercompe scribonia, we have received since Friday, your sighting was the furthest west and south.  Your moth is missing the scales from the tips of the wings, indicating either it is an older moth, or that it has encountered some type of trauma.  We are thrilled to be able to post all four letters so our readership will have a clear idea of the range of this moth, and also that despite the 1000s of miles separating them, their biological clocks are ticking on the same schedule.

On the outskirts of Chapel Hill, NC
Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 4:31 PM
Does anyone know what type of Moth this is???
Geo
Chapel Hill, NC

Giant Leopard Moth

Hi Geo,
We received at least four letters in as many days requesting that we identify the Giant Leopard Moth, Hypercompe scribonia, and your photo is our favorite.

Red winged bug
Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 5:25 PM
Dear Bugman,
I saw this red insect while hiking in Bear Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains in June. It looked somewhat moth-like, with bright red wings that were outlined in black. It had a black head and black antennae. Could you please help identify this? Thank you!
Madena
Bear Canyon, San Gabriel Mountains, California

Lichen Moth

Hello Madena,
This is a moth;  more specifically  it is a Lichen Moth in the Tiger Moth subfamily Lithosiinae. It goes by the polysyllabic name Lycomorpha fulgens, but has no common name.  BugGuide reports the species from Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.

What is this?
Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 6:54 AM
We have recently seen these unusual (to us anyway!) flying insects and would love to know what they are. We spotted them mating on the grass outside our house one day a few weeks ago (mid march), and then saw quite a few of them flying around for the next couple of weeks. Then in the last few days we have seen their corpses lying around. Unfortunately the picture is not too clear as it was taken with the cellphone camera. The closest thing I have been able to find is a polka dot wasp moth. They have a shiny turquoise abdomen wih 3 distinct shiny orange rings around the middle and one around the top of the abdomen. The wings are black and have creamy coloured spots on them. I would love to know what they are!
Trish
Agadir, Morocco

Mating Unknown Wasp Moths from Morocco

Beautiful Bug
Sat, Apr 4, 2009 at 8:20 AM
I spotted this beautiful flying insect around middle of march, and have no idea what it is! I noticed they were mating around this time,and then saw quite a few flying around for the next couple of weeks, then they started dying. I am not a bug person at all, but would love to know what this beautiful creature is. Thanks.
Trish
Agadir, Morocco

Unknown Wasp Moth from Morocco

Sun, Apr 5, 2009 at 1:33 AM
Is this a Wasp Moth in Morocco?
Trish
Agadir, Morocco

Unknown Wasp Moth from Morocco

Hi Trish,
Thanks for your perseverance in sending us three emails. We are happy your subsequent images are clear and focused. Yes, this is a Wasp Moth. Moths in two different families, Sesiidae and Arctiidae (Tribe Euchromiini) are known as Wasp Moths since they mimic the stinging insects, but are themselves harmless. Your moth is in the tribe Euchromiini and we will check with our friend Julian Donahue, an expert in the Arctiidae, to see if he recognizes the species.

Update: Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:46:25 -0400
It’s a ctenuchine arctiid in the genus Euchromia, but I’ll have to see if I can get a species name at the Museum tomorrow. Not illustrated in any reference I have at hand.
Julian

Update: Tue, 07 Apr 2009
Daniel,
Are you sure it is from “Morocco”?? I checked some references at the Museum yesterday, and there is nothing in Africa or the western Palearctic that matches it.
There are, however, some species from the Moluccas (Indonesia) that are similar, such as Euchromia walkeri from Ternate (Moluccas), and the widespread E. creusa from northern Australia, Fiji, New Guinea, Moluccas, Celebes, New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, Palau, and elsewhere in the western Pacific.
Furthermore, since it appears to be a female, it doesn’t exactly match any figures I saw (there is often great sexual dimorphism in this group). Send the specimen and I can perhaps come up with a better name.
Julian

moth
Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 6:25 PM
what type of moth is this? I think it may be an underwing, I have seen no photos anywhere of this same moth.
Elaine photo girl
North east MA

Tiger Moth

Hi Elaine,
This is actually a Tiger Moth in the family Arctiidae, most likely from the genus Grammia. There are many similar looking moths in this genus and we do not feel confident trying to identify your specimen to the species level, but a glance at the images on BugGuide will show you some possibilities.

Moth, fly, or?
Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 4:37 PM
Hi, again! I love this site and Bug Guide. The two photos below were taken on my patio on an old white plastic table (for color interpretation) and are of a flying insect with white wings and thorax and tiny tufts of red hairs forming a kind of pattern. I have seen the same type of insect with black tufts instead of red. I live at about 1100 meters on the Pacific slopes of a mountain range in southeastern Costa Rica. The largest nearby city is San Vito. These particular insects seem to be more common during the dry season.
Mary Thorman
Costa Rica

Tiger Moth from Costa Rica

Hi Mary,
We believe this is a Tiger Moth and we are going to contact an expert in the Arctiidae, Julian Donahue, for assistance with the species identification.

Sorry–it’s a megalopygid. Common, but I don’t recall the generic name at the moment.
Julian

Correction: Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Hello Bugman:
I believe this is a moth in the Family Megalopygidae (Flannel Moths), in the Genus Trosia. Trosia is a very abundant genus and they all look quite similar, but Trosia fallax appears to be a very close match. Cheers.
Karl