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Sunday, August 16, 2015

Ginormous Moth

I'm hoping the redoubtable Tim can help out here. I tried to use the Moth Identification Guide on this big brute, but came up short. The wingspan was about 6" or more and once it got into the house it was like trying to catch a small bat. Once I got it in the net and took it outside, it rested and allowed me to take some photos. I left the photos large because the whole event was so unusual.

Enjoy!


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6 comments:

  1. Kelly the little black dog9:48 AM

    Mothra

    ReplyDelete
  2. tim eisele3:23 PM

    I believe you have a male Black Witch, Ascalapha odorata. There aren't really a lot of possibilities once the moths get that big. The females look quite a bit different, with much more pronounced markings. Most of the online pictures are of the females, which is probably what was throwing you off.

    ReplyDelete
  3. tim eisele3:37 PM

    And I just tried using the moth ID guide. Even knowing what the moth is, I couldn't get it to work. Their search tool is a nice idea, but it still has some bugs (ha!) in it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous4:09 PM

    Here's a picture of a Black Witch:

    http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2009/12/30/black-witch-from-mexico/

    ReplyDelete
  5. K T Cat6:27 AM

    Thanks, all! I told my wife that we'd had a black witch in our house. She replied, "I beg your pardon, what did you say?"

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ilíon5:16 AM

    I'll bet Shelob would have liked to meet Mothra.

    ReplyDelete