Subject:  Beautiful giant moth
Geographic location of the bug:  Pretoria, South Africa
Date: 10/20/2019
Time: 01:49 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi! I found this beautiful giant moth on my windowsill and was wondering where I can satisfy my curiosity on their lifespan, feeding, etc. Google doesn’t seem to have much? It looked like it was busy dying, which made me kind of sad. I love these creatures, nature really is amazing! How can I get more moths into my garden, and if they feed on the trees (which I don’t mind), does it actually damage the tree?
How you want your letter signed:  Dominique

Cabbage Emperor Moth: Bunaea alcinoe

Dear Dominique,
We believe we have  correctly identified your Giant Silk Moth or Emperor Moth as the Cabbage Emperor Moth Bunaea alcinoe thanks to images posted to African Moths.  There does appear to be some variability in colors and markings.

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Subject:  Pink Moth with Fuzzy Red Head
Geographic location of the bug:  Florida
Date: 09/15/2019
Time: 04:15 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  We found a moth with beautiful pink wings. It’s fuzzy head was a dark red with the color transitioning into the wings. Fuzzy thick arms and on its underside it was brown. It’s currently September in Central Florida. It was sitting on a window at a pharmacy.
How you want your letter signed:  🙂

Female Io Moth

Dear :),
This is a female Io Moth, but her most distinguishing physical feature is not apparent in your image.  Both female and male Io Moth have striking eyespot markings on the underwings that are hidden when the moth is at rest.  Once startled, the moth reveals the underwings, potentially frightening a predator into perceiving that it has wakened a sleeping giant that could turn around and eat the predator.  This illusion is protective mimicry.  We suspect this individual was attracted by the pharmacy lights and then decided to stay and rest during the day until the following night.

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Subject:  Malformed moth?
Geographic location of the bug:  Midway Utah – on the WOW trail
Date: 09/10/2019
Time: 12:38 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  We found this little guy crawling around while biking. It looks like he didn’t develop properly. Can you tell what species it might be? And what would cause it to grow so poorly?
How you want your letter signed:  JAB

Newly emerged Buck Moth

Dear JAB,
This is a Buck Moth in the genus Hemileuca that has just emerged from the pupa and its wings have not yet expanded.  There are at least eight species in Utah in the genus.

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Subject:  rothschildia in Yasuni National Park Ecuador
Geographic location of the bug:  Orellana, Ecuador, Yasuni National Park.
Date: 08/27/2019
Time: 10:52 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  See https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/28849696 for the inaturalist post. Beautiful Rothschildia but I cannot identify it!
How you want your letter signed:  Trevor

Giant Silkmoth: Rosthchildia arethusa rhodina

Dear Trevor,
We also have trouble with Rothschildia species, so we are contacting Bill Oehlke to see if he can identify the species.

Update courtesy of Bill Oehlke:  September 23, 2019
Daniel, I do not think I previously responded to this one
Rothschildia arethusa rhodina
Jordan, 1911
I anticipated it in Orellana, but I think this is first confirmed report.
Bill

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Subject:  Moth-like bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Concord, North Carolina
Date: 07/19/2019
Time: 11:05 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hello! I saw this interesting bug on my back porch, and I can’t identify it.
How you want your letter signed:  No

Royal Walnut Moth

This beautiful moth is a Royal Walnut Moth or Regal Moth, the adult form of the equally spectacular Hickory Horned Devil.

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