Subject: Weird bug on fence
Geographic location of the bug: Florida
Date: 01/25/2018
Time: 07:49 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hello! So I found this big guy on my fence. I’ve never seen anything like it before. The top half looks like an owlet moth….I’m not sure what the bottom half looks like. I’ve tried doing searches, but I can’t find anything. Even tried to search for the life cycle of the owlet, but that doesn’t yield anything, either. It was about 2″ long and about as big around as a pinky finger. It stayed on the fence nearly all day.
How you want your letter signed: Cher Lewis
Dear Cher,
This is a newly eclosed Eyed Tiger Moth or Giant Leopard Moth. Eclosion is the process of emerging from the pupal state, so this individual’s wings have not yet expanded allowing it to fly, a process that might take several additional hours. Insects are most vulnerable during the process of metamorphosis.
