Polyphemus moth - July 3, 2009. Taking pictures of these has become a bit like taking pictures of my cats - just tooo easy. But this year, I took time to take photos from as many angles as I possibly could, trying to get closeups of underside, legs, face, hind wings, "eyes" etc. I don't think I'll ever have to take a picture of an Antheraea polyphemus again - unless I happen to locate a female one! For documentation purposes, this male arrived at my back porch light on July 3, 2009 in Weaverville NC. These are live photos. (More environmental details at the bottom of this page.) Its wingspan when this picture was taken was 14.5 cm. Its body length is 3.5 cm. I have oodles of detail pics, way too many to post on this poor old decrepit webpage.

2008 seemed to be a "middling" year. There were lots of moths but I saw only a few of the giant silkworms.

In 2007 the weather was not happy for the moths - we had a late April hard freeze that killed off a lot of things, not just moths but devastating the fruit tree crops in North Carolina.

And then of course, there are the luna moths, Actias luna. Do you know of ANY kid who has seen these in a guide book and NOT been smitten by the desire to see one? All I can say is, they are more spectacular in real life than in any drawing or photo you will ever see in a book.

The tricky part about loving these giant moths is a desire to see them, and at the same time see them continue their existence.

If you do what I do - leave a porch light on - most of the giant silkworm moths of the eastern U.S. can be viewed.  Resist the temptation to capture them. We have no need of additional scientific specimens, and they are hard to preserve. The equipment and chemicals needed to do the job right are hard to obtain. Enjoy them when you see them, and revel in their truly ephemeral beauty - here tonight, gone tomorrow. But with non-interference you can be guaranteed of seeing them again next year.

Update September 1 2008: We saw a newly emerged Luna Moth (male I believe) at our porchlight on 9/1/08. Good news - the weather has favored a second brood this year. Hurray!

Io Moths - The female on the left (06/17/08) and the male below (06/22/08). The male on the right I found, already expired. He's looking pretty ragged but at least this shows how flashy they are, with their underwing eyespots. It is believed that prominent spots on moths are there to distract potential predators, such as birds. The birds will go for the spots rather than vital body parts. I've definitely seen moths with their underwings severely damaged, still getting around.

July 13 2009 - Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) - another one of the "Giant Silkworm" moths of the family Saturniidae, subfamily Citheroniinae. I can usually count on seeing at least a few of these each year. In 2009, July 13th was my first spotting. These are live photos - I was able to get a huge volume of pictures then safely let it go. Its wingspan was 11.0 cm, body length 4.9 cm, and the wing length (taken from where the wing joins the thorax to the tip) was 5.5 cm. Male, as far as I can tell.

Underside of the male Imperial Moth.

Identification aided by the NC moth coordinator at ButterfliesAndMoths.org. I had thought it was an Acontia, but these two picures are of the Beautiful Wood Nymph, Eudryas grata. Acontia and Eudryas moths are sometimes called "bird dropping" moths, for obvious reasons. Sure, they have mastered the art of disguise - who would want to eat a bird dropping? But when you see them in person you will definitely remember the name, Beautiful Wood Nymph.

Picture of moth eggs taken 06/17/08. I have no idea what moth they came from - "possibly" the Beautiful Wood Nymph above (and I truly mean, only possibly - because of where I saw the moth, the eggs, and their proximity in time and place, all of which signifies nothing.) But I thought the picture was worth including because of their own inherent beauty - like little Tahitian pearls.

07/04/09 - a strange note. I just discovered a fresh patch of eggs in almost exactly the same place, same formation, except they are pearly white. Each no more than 1/4 millimeter wide. They  had to have been laid this afternoon or early evening.

June 30, 2009: I absolutely could NOT figure out what this one was - I owe major thanks to the webmaster at the North American Moth Photographers Group site produced by the Mississippi Entomological Museum at Mississippi State U., http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/.

This is Ecliptopera atricolorata, commonly called a Dark-Banded Geometer moth (see Geometridae: Larentiinae: Hydriomenini at the above-mentioned site). You'd think something this spectacular would be easy... not! It just flew in the door, landed on my black leather purse looking fabulous daarling, then I managed to coax it onto a sheet of paper - but I wasn't able to "toy" with it for different angles, hind wings, etc. This obsession can be so frustrating :-)

All I can give are rough measurements - wingspan of 3 cm and body length about 1.5 cm.

I had trouble identifying it because oddly enough, I hadn't seen (or noticed or recognized) Geometers before. If I had, I would have recognized it very quickly by the unique wing pattern. Note the large, almost-square black rectangle that begins at the edge of the forewing with no border at the edge of the wing - then the prominent roundish patch just next to it at the inner margin. The shape and markings of the body are also good indicators.

Again, with the help of the NC moth coordinator at www.ButterfliesAndMoths.org, an injustice of misidentification has been corrected as of June 2009. These three pictures are of a Carpenterworm, Prionoxystus robiniae. It's a rather large moth (about 3 cm long) I photographed on 6/15/08. They are regular visitors in the WNC mountains, are very friendly, and make lovely, if temporary, jewelry :-)

Small-Eyed Sphinx - Paonias myops, common throughout the eastern U.S. but I had not seen one before 2008. In person they are large and spectacularly colored. This one measured approx. 2.5 cm in body length and from wingtip to wingtip, not outstretched, was 3.5 cm.

I am now very confident about the identification, after researching it further - see Opler, Paul A., Kelly Lotts, and Thomas Naberhaus, coordinators. 2009. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Big Sky Institute. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ (Version 06.28.2009).

Underwings - there are many, many "Underwing" moths out there. The common name is very apt - they are very dull brown until they spread their wings. This one seems to be common for my area, and I believe I've managed to positively identify it as the Ultronia Underwing, Catocala ultronia.

Giant Leopard Moth (Ecpantheria scribonia) - 06/22/08 - Obviously this guy or gal (not determined) suffered a bit of wing-beating, but again, I don't pin down live specimens. I found this one 'as is.' I think they are absolutely stunning! In 2009 I've been seeing quite a few in late June, more than average I'd say.

Rosy Maple Moth - a very common visitor in our area, in fact considered a pest by some arborists. But it sure captures your attention when you find one. Though not very large, the Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) is in the same family as the giant silkworms and royal moths: Saturdniidae.

June 30, 2009: I am sure it is a Ceratomia, "probably" a Waved Sphinx, Ceratomia undulosa, male as far as I can tell.

I took a lot of photos but it was a very active moth,and I was unable to get photos of the underside, hind wings and side body before I had to let it take off again.

For documentation purposes, same location as per below. This is a "Live" picture. Body length: 4.4 cm. Wing length: 4.7 cm. Wing span at rest (as seen) 6.5 cm tip to tip. Hind wings have two dark grey somewhat indistinct bands. The sides of the body - hidden below the wings - have one row of strong grey-bluish oblique bands against a creamy yellow background, with a smaller second row just below the wing juncture. The top of the body (its back) have dark colored bands  - I did not see the bright banding typical of Manduca Sphinx moths.

This is an Oakworm moth, genus Anisota, "probably" Anisota virginiensis (thanks R.D.), but I wasn't vigilant enough to take a lot more photos to be absolutely sure. Its body length is "approximately" 2 cm. Photo taken on 6/22/08 in Weaverville, Buncombe County, NC in deep oak-beech-maple forest at 2400' elevation. I should have known better, and taken more photos. I ignored my own advice, assuming that it would be easy to identify based on the markings. Never, ever assume that! If you are trying to identify a moth, take as many observations and photos as you can!

A Lichen Moth - Lichen moths can be awfully tricky because there are sooo many of them. With the help of the moth coordinator at MothsAndButterflies.org we're labeling this one as Leuconycta diphtheroides.

Ash Sphinx - A UFO until helped out by - you
guessed it - R.D. the NC moth identification coordinator at MothsAndButterflies.org who identified it as Manduca jasminearum. This picture was taken 6/22/08, I wish I had more photos of it.