Red Moth
September 6, 2009
I found this outside my door the first week in September. It did not move for two days, but then it moved to the door across from my condo. A few days later it was gone
LP
Bonita Springs, Florida
Dear LP,
This is a female Io Moth. The males have yellow upper wings. Had you disturbed the moth, you may have been treated to the startling eyespots on the underwings. When disturbed, Io Moths, like many other Giant Silkmoths, will reveal these lower wings to startle a predator. A bird or other predator might then think the creature it tried to eat was a much larger head staring at it, and fearing that it might become the prey instead, the predator might then fly away.