Subject:  Black chrysalis found on the ground
Geographic location of the bug:  Georgia
Date: 03/18/2018
Time: 06:19 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi! My husband and I encountered this chrysalis while raking some growth under a tree. We’re not entirely sure if it fell from the tree or if it came from the ground.
How you want your letter signed:  Lori and Chris Catalina

Imperial Moth Pupa

Dear Lori and Chris,
This sure looks to us like an Imperial Moth pupa.  The adult Imperial Moth is a beautiful, large, yellow and maroon moth that does not feed as an adult, and generally only lives a few days, long enough to mate and procreate.

Imperial Moth Pupa

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Subject:  Moth
Geographic location of the bug:  Santa Rosa ca
Date: 03/13/2018
Time: 08:59 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Just wanted to share this.
How you want your letter signed:  Walt

Ceanothus Silkmoth

Hi Walt,
We just responded to the comment you placed on a prior post, and we are happy you figured out how to submit images to our site.  Alas, this female Ceanothus Silkmoth does not appear to have survived the recent rains.  Hopefully she had an opportunity to mate and lay eggs before the rains hit.

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Subject:  Large Moth
Geographic location of the bug:  Central Texas
Date: 03/11/2018
Time: 04:36 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This mother got inside my house last night, and has been hanging around for a few days. Also is it poisonous to dogs? I’m worried my dog might try to eat it.
How you want your letter signed:  Tania Pinto

Male Polyphemus Moth

Dear Tania,
You can tell that this gorgeous Polyphemus Moth is a male by his extremely feathery antennae.  Polyphemus Moths are not poisonous and it poses no threat to your dog.  We hope you had an opportunity to view it with its wings opened, revealing the effective protective eyespots that will frighten off predators.

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Subject:  Attacus Caesar Moth
Geographic location of the bug:  Northern Cebu
Date: 02/07/2018
Time: 11:06 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi,
I am a moth enthusiast, I believe that this is an Attacus Caesar moth.  It has landed on my diving vest, on my balcony at the edge of the jungle in Northern Cebu, Philippines.
How you want your letter signed:  HABSgirl

Attacus philippina species

Dear HABSgirl,
According to The Saturniidae of the Philippines, there are four species in the genus Attacus reported from The Philippines:  “Attacus atlas (Linnaeus, 1758), Attacus caesar Maassen, 1873, Attacus lorquinii C. & R. Felder, 1861, Attacus lemairei Peigler, 1985” but the site does not provide any images.  Of the images posted to Philippine Lepidoptera, the species that look most like your individual are male Attacus lemairei and Attacus lorquinii, though both seem to exhibit considerable variability.   The location of your sighting might not be a factor because according to zobodat:  “these huge species are very popular with amateur entomologists and traders, easy to rear (and regularly reared in big numbers), traded in large numbers (but not at all en­dangered thereby), polyphagous and usually capable to survive in secondary and agricultural landscape of the non-industrial type, and obviously will thrive well under tropical and subtropical climate nearly everywhere in the wild in SE Asia. This, consequently, may well have resulted in several popula­tions being set free in the wild at the ‘wrong’ places, often in or near cities.”  That stated, we are turning to Bill Oehlke to enlist his expertise.

Bill Oehlke Responds: 
Daniel,
I am not sure but I would go with Attacus philippina, which, at one time, was considered a synonym of lorquinii. Second choice would be lorquinii.
Bill

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Subject:  Moth on my wall
Geographic location of the bug:  Highland CA
Date: 01/31/2018
Time: 01:33 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  We’ve seen two of these in the past two weeks. This is a picture of the first one. We found wings a few days after it left that look like they have the same pattern. It was rainy when we found the wings. We believe a bird ate it while it was at our door. It has feathery antennae and a large body.
How you want your letter signed:  Leo Wang

Ceanothus Silkmoth

Dear Leo,
You are quite fortunate to have a population of Ceanothus Silkmoths near your home.  Your speculation that an individual was eaten by a bird is a distinct possibility.  Like other members of the Giant Silkmoth family, adult Ceanothus Silkmoths do not eat, and they live only long enough to mate and procreate.

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Subject:  What is this bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Jupiter Florida
Date: 01/25/2018
Time: 11:03 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I found this in my walk today.
I was told it was a pregnant moth. What kind is it?
How you want your letter signed:  Judy from Jupiter

Female Polyphemus Moth

Dear Judy,
You were told correct information.  This is a female Polyphemus Moth and she is indeed filled with eggs.  Like other members of her Giant Silkmoth family Saturniidae, the female emerges from the pupal state filled with eggs and ready to mate.  Moths in this family do not eat as adults.  They live for a few days, long enough to mate and reproduce.  We hope you had the opportunity to observe the dorsal surface of her wings, as there are large eyespots on the underwings that are used to startle birds or other predators into perceiving that they are about to be eaten by a much larger creature when they try to eat this tasty morsel.

Thank you so much for the information.
It is always a good day when you learn something new.

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