Find your tribe in a Sea of Creativity
Lepidoptera - Blog Posts
Rose Myrtle Lappet Moth (Trabala vishnou), family Lasiocampidae, Johor, Malaysia
photograph by Varun Thangamani
Moth Of The Day #212
Lily Moth / Indian Lily Moth
Polytela gloriosae
From the noctuidae family. They have a wingspan of about 29 mm. They are found in Sri Lanka and possibly Indonesia.
Image sources: [1] [2]
Moth Of The Day #251
Marbled Emperor
Heniocha dyops
From the saturniidae family. They can be found in Angola, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania.
Image sources: [1] [2] [3] [4]
Please could you show the world my favourite moth, Moma alpium, the Scarce merveille du jour? Its very special to me, and I hope others can appreciate it too.
Moth Of The Day #270
Scarce Merveille du Jour
Moma alpium
From the noctuidae family. They have a wingspan of 30-35 mm. They can be found in the Palearctic Realm.
Image sources: [1] [2]
Moth Of The Day #291
Larch Tolype / Larch Lappet Moth
Tolype laricis
From the lasiocampidae family. They can be found in eastern North America.
Image source: [1] [2]
Moth Of The Day #272
Coenobasis amoena
From the limacodidae family. There is little to no information recorded about this moth.
Image sources: [1] [2]
Abbott's Sphinx Moth: this caterpillar has a false eye on its rump; it mimics the features of a vertebrate's eye, and even includes a white reflection spot
The formal name for this species is Sphecodina abbottii.
From Minnesota Seasons:
The caterpillar is up to 3″ (7.5 cm) long. Middle stage (instar) caterpillars are whitish to bluish-green. In place of the horn found on other sphinx caterpillars, there is a raised orange knob on the eighth abdominal segment (A8). Final instar caterpillars come in two color forms. The brown color form has longitudinal streaks of light and dark brown mimicking the color of a woody vine. The green form has on each abdominal segment a large, pale green, saddle-shaped spot on the upper side and a similar smaller spot on each side. The pattern is said to mimic a bunch of unripe grapes. Both forms have a black, raised, eye-like knob on A8 complete with a small white spot mimicking reflected light.
When the caterpillar is pinched or poked, it often squeaks and bites at the attacker.
The fully-developed moth also has a unique appearance -- it has an ash-grey/blue coloration with streaks of pink and black.
Sources & More Info:
Encyclopedia of Life: Sphecodina abbottii
Insect Identification: Abbott's Sphinx Moth
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Saukeville Field Station
Minnesota Seasons: Abbott's Sphinx Moth
University of Minnesota Garden Extension: Abbott's Sphinx
What a handsome little guy <3
Moth Of The Day #106
Urania Swallowtail Moth / Green Page Moth
Urania fulgens
From the uraniidae family. They have a wingspan of 70-85 mm. They tend to inhabit tropical environments. It is found in Central and South America.
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, Hemaris thysbe, family Sphingidae, East Fork State Park, southern Ohio, USA
photographs by Gayle Pille
Range: Costa Rica, Panama, & Colombia.
Hummingbird moth time of year!
Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis)
July 11, 2023
John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Tinicum, Pennsylvania
Moth Of The Day #112
Clouded Silver
Lomographa temerata
From the geometridae family. They have a wingspan of 22-30 mm. They tend to inhabit gardens, hedgerows, fens and woodland. They can be found in most of Europe.
Moth Of The Day #123
Blair's Mocha
Cyclophora puppillaria
From the geomtridae family. They have a wingspan of 28-36 mm. They tend to inhabit open and coastal habitats, but are also occasionally seen in woodland. They can be found in Europe and North Africa to the Caucasus area.
If you haven't already, mayhaps you could do an excerpt on the Bogong Moth.
Moth Of The Day #135
Bogong Moth
Agrotis infusa
From the noctuidae family. They have a wingspan of 25-35 mm. They tend to inhabit urban areas, forests and woodlands. They can be found throughout Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. The name derives from the Dhudhuroa (an Aboriginal Australian language) word bugung, which describes the brown coloration of the moth.
First art post for Oakie this year! We've been doing more digital art recently since we got a new laptop/tablet. Thank you @jtranageder1 for voting for our favorite enby acorn!
(the more people vote for Oakie in this poll and like or comment to let us know, the more art we will post)
Lyra Blue-striped Metalmark (Lyropteryx lyra), family Riodinidae, Napo, Ecuador
photograph by Chan Wah Choy