Beautiful Moth
Location: Sarasota, FL
August 3, 2010 8:43 pm
Saw this moth outside of my office one day, it was yellowish and fairly big. it looked like it had color under it’s wings so I nudged it (very lightly I promise) to see the pattern under the wing. I was not disappointed as it had two very large faux eyes and bright red, yellow and orange coloring. Just hoping for an ID. Thanks a lot guys. Love the site by the way, found it Stumbling one day and I’ve been addicted since.
Tim
Hi Tim,
Thanks for the compliment. Your moth is a male Io Moth. The female is slightly larger and has brown upper wings. The eyespots are very effective in dissuading predators like birds. When the bird nudges the moth and the eyespots are revealed, what was once thought correctly to be a toothsome meal is mistaken for a large threat. Interestingly, the Io Moth is one of the smaller North American Giant Silkmoths.