What kind of moth is this?
April 16, 2010
The reddish moth showed up two nights ago, and this afternoon I noticed she (I’m assuming she’s a she) had begun to lay eggs on a deck post. This evening the darker moth (the male?) landed next to her, and they seemed to connect at the thorax in bit of “nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more” moth love. I’ve found about four different moth identifications that could be this moth, but I’m curious what you think it is.
Michael
Landrum, South Carolina
Hi Michael,
What marvelous photos you have submitted. These are mating Promethea Moths, Callosamia promethea, also known as Spicebush Silkmoths. BugGuide has information on the identification of the species. The female is the lighter larger moth, and the male is the darker smaller moth. Your letter and wonderful photos almost got overlooked because it has the same subject line as a letter we posted the day before, and the archiving of our email system in WordPress combined them in our inbox.
