MOTH LIFE

This is a blog celebrating the interesting world of moths, and how diverse they are. Feel free to submit anything moths related, be it art, photos, videos, or anything else! Special thanks to the photographer who took the picture for the icon! If you want me to ID a moth, please say your location along with a photo!

[deactivated-blog]

[sinobug]

Chalcosiine Day-flying Moth (Erasmia pulchella, Chalcosiinae, Zygaenidae) by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr. Pu'er, Yunnan, China See more Chinese moths on my Flickr site HERE…..

[nemertea]

A Public Service Announcement by ursulav

[hexacodethespian-blog]

OMG this is beautiful

[jennrosefx]

This is amazing.

[buggirl]

Lovely wasp mimicking moth in the family Arctiidae.

Possibly genus Isanthrene

Tiputini, Ecuador

[sinobug]

Flipping the Bird Footman Moth (possibly Barsine sp., Lithosiini, Arctiinae, Erebidae) by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr. Pu'er, Yunnan, China See more Chinese moths on my Flickr site HERE…..

[coolbugs]

Bug of the Day

A most uncooperative bicolored sallow (Sunira bicolorago), refusing to budge so I could get a nice shot of the wing. I suppose if you’re a moth and you’re stuck out on a chilly November night, you’re not going to have much energy… :-).

[arsinsectica]

This massive thing is a Hickory Horned Devil, the pupa of the Regal Moth Citheronia regalis. And it really is that big: My arm, wrist to elbow, is 11 inches long, and this thing took up about half of it. You wouldn’t expect to see something this large in the Northern US, but their range on the east cost goes from Florida to New York. How something cold-blooded manages to accumulate so much biomass in such a short growing season (the last snow this year was in late April and we can get a first frost as early as mid-October) is beyond me. In fact, this is only the second HHD I’ve ever seen in my life; the last one I saw, I was about seven or eight years old and accidentally stumbled on it as I was digging in a mulch bed (scared the daylights out of my mother when I brought it inside to show it to her. That’s how you know you’ve made a really good find, kids).

From the size of this guy, it looks like it was on it’s way to find a spot to burrow down into the soil for pupation when one of the nature camp counselors saw him bumbling through the grass. We have a lot of tiny feet running through that part of the camp, so she brought the big guy in for the rest of the staff to have a look. It was very calm, crawling along the picnic tables and letting us all have a good look.  You can’t see it well here, but those yellow specks on its back might possibly be either wasp eggs or the start of some Cordycepts fungus (most likely the former, since moths of nearly all species have some sort of parasitoid wasp that preys on the larval stage). We let him go after snapping a few photos for the campers, and hopefully he made it. Their adult form is really stunning, and hopefully I’ll see one flying around the parking lot lights next spring.

[sinobug]

Lappet Moth (Trabala sp., Lasiocampidae), male by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr. Pu'er, Yunnan, China See more Chinese moths on my Flickr site HERE…..

[sinobug]

Footman Moth (Miltochrista convexa, Lithosiini, Arctiinae, Erebidae) by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr. Pu'er, Yunnan, China See more Chinese moths on my Flickr site HERE…..

[babynaturalist]

Well hello, you little cutie! 

I saw him on my porch the other day and told him, “I would pick you up but I bet you’re venomous.” Then I looked him up this morning and lo and behold, he is indeed venomous. This is a caterpillar for an io moth (Automeris io). Io moths are beautiful and widespread, although becoming less common (as are many sensitive lepidopteran species). 

The larvae of io moths begin as a deep orange color, and gradually with diet and growth turns into this vibrant green spiky thing. It has a distinctive red and white pinstripe down the side. 

[buggirl]

Look at the gold borders on this one!! 

Maquipucuna, Ecuador

[dryadbrat]

hey watter u guys doin

[fyeahcutemoths-blog]

I got more than six thousand followers while I was gone! Would you look at that!

Thank y’all kindly. I appreciate every one of you. I know the ride’s been slow lately, but it’s not going to end for a very long time! ♥

[fyeahcutemoths-blog]

found this moth while i was home, wondering if you recognize it? super tiny. Central PA, USA.

Hi there! I do have an answer for you! This is a Gold Triangle/Clover Hayworm moth, or Hypsopygia costalis. While these guys normally live in Europe, there are reports of them being seen in North America. Thanks for the submission!

[planetjunior]

[fyeahcutemoths-blog]

planetjunior:

Saved this guy from my cats earlier, he’s very lucky I have a soft spot for little creatures like himself. Beautiful markings

[thebeastpeddler]

[fyeahcutemoths-blog]

thebeastpeddler:

Moth in progress.

[cool-critters]

Glanycus coendersi

Glanycus coendersi is one of the aposematically coloured day-flying species of Thyrididae (picture-winged leaf moths). This species occurs in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan and Malaku Islands.

photo credits: Alexey

[moongirlbec-deactivated20190901]

Found this little fella today #nature #moth? #colourful