45 votes

What kind of creature is this?

This actually looks like a Gaudy Sphinx caterpillar (Eumorpha labruscae). It only mimics the appearance of a snake! You can find more information about this species here. Range: Argentina north ...
theforestecologist's user avatar
43 votes
Accepted

What do butterflies eat?

Adult butterflies don't eat! I mean.... not in the sense of chewing on food. They rather drink. They get their nutrients via ingestion of liquid substances. Their mouth consists of a long tube called ...
Remi.b's user avatar
  • 68k
24 votes

What do butterflies eat?

Several species of the order Lepidoptera don't feed at all in adult form, surviving entirely on the reserves made while they were larva. Two examples I'm aware of are the Atlas moth (as well as most ...
Dmitry Grigoryev's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

The Identity of this Lepidopteron

This looks like the Satyr Comma or Polygonia satyrus. Characteristic of this species is a dark border near the tops of wings, fading near the bottom. They are common across the Western United States ...
hamilthj's user avatar
  • 911
9 votes
Accepted

Please identify this moth from Bangladesh

I think I have found the identification. It is a planthopper from ricaniidae family. Most likely Ricanula stigmatica. Image source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricanula_stigmatica
Ahmed Abdullah's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

Caterpillar resembling a snake

Looks like the larvae of an elephant hawk moth (Deilephila elpenor). Green Variant. ©2005 Henk Wallays (CC BY-NC 3.0) In the Sphingidae family (like the snake-mimic caterpillar in this post). ...
theforestecologist's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

Identification of brown butterfly with orange/black/white spots

I think this is the "Dark Evening Brown" or Melanitis phedima possibly Melanitis phedima bela: Some further information can be found here (image 1) and here (image 2). If you look close at the second ...
Chris's user avatar
  • 51.5k
8 votes
Accepted

Help me identify this caterpillar looking insect

They look like the caterpillars of Alope sphinx (Erinnyis alope) There is a webpage on a dedicated website here: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Erinnyis-alope Among the pictures in the ...
have fun's user avatar
  • 1,375
8 votes
Accepted

Please help identify the species of a possible butterfly

I'm no expert - just like browsing pictures, so totally open to other suggestions. I think this is the Mango Hawkmoth/Sphinx moth (Amplypterus panopus), which is a fairly widespread moth of SE Asia, ...
bob1's user avatar
  • 11.2k
8 votes
Accepted

Identifying a Texan horned butterfly

This appears to be an American (or common) snout (Libytheana carinenta). The "snout" of this butterfly is very distinctive as is the squarish tip of the forewings (the part projecting ...
tyersome's user avatar
  • 5,577
6 votes

Identification of a caterpillar

This is a tussock moth caterpillar in the Lymantriidae family. The image is not clear enough for a definitive ID, but it appears you have some species in the genus Orgyia. Likely, this is a white-...
theforestecologist's user avatar
6 votes

Species ID from Hungary

This appears to be a Gastropacha Quercifolia, the Lappet Moth. It is found in Europe and Northern and Eastern Asia. The wingspan is 50–90 mm. The females are larger than the males. ...
4265726E6172646F's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Large black caterpillar, cocoon, moth - Los Angeles

Based on the image of the moth, I think this is a Painted Tiger Moth (Arachnis picta). See the image of the moth from the Wikipedia (you can even see the yellow color at the head region): An image of ...
Chris's user avatar
  • 51.5k
6 votes
Accepted

Moth that resembles a leaf. What species is this?

It resembles Pelagodes antiquadraria, which belongs to the moth genus Pelagodes in the family Geometridae. Image Source: FlickRiver
Imtiaz Raqib's user avatar
  • 1,268
5 votes

Identification of brown butterfly with orange/black/white spots

As to your question why they come into the house: Some butterflies survive winter (hibernate) on a dry, cool but frost-free place such as parts of houses that are not heated. In autumn they actively ...
RHA's user avatar
  • 3,657
5 votes

What is this animal that hides in dustlike structure?

This is likely a case-bearing clothes moth (Tinea pellionella). Though more information and a better image would aid in confirming that to be the case. Here are some pictures:
theforestecologist's user avatar
5 votes

Identify this smooth-cocoon worm from Southern India

This is definitely the larvae of one of a many number of case-bearing moth species. As noted in comments and elsewhere, these case-bearing moths show up fairly frequently on Bio.SE (e.g., see here, ...
theforestecologist's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

What diurnal red & black moth is this?

Looks like a six-spot burnet (Zygaena filipendulae) Diurnal moth of the Zygaenidae family. Description: has a wingspan of 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in)...The fore wings are dark metallic green with six ...
theforestecologist's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

Is this tailed butterfly a coral hairstreak?

It's a Gray Hairstreak Butterfly (Strymon melinus). It can have one, two, or even three "hairs" on each wing. How much coral is on the wing varies, as does the amount of coral on the ...
anongoodnurse's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

What moth is this and how do we get rid of them?

That is an Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella. Family Pyralidae. They are very common household pests. https://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/indian_meal_moth.htm They breed in grains or cereals. ...
Karl Kjer's user avatar
  • 7,637
4 votes

What kind of red/green/black, spiny caterpillar is this?

Looks like a greenish variant of Hemileuca maia – the Buck Moth, which according to here does occur in Oklahoma. This source also suggests that touching the caterpillar (or its relatives) is a bad ...
theforestecologist's user avatar
3 votes
Accepted

What is the species name of this moth?

I believe that it is the vine hawk moth (Choerocampa rosetta). https://www.whatsthatbug.com/2010/11/20/vine-hawk-moth/
user44350's user avatar
3 votes
Accepted

Insect identification - pantry moth vs clothes moth

Although the images are very grainy and oddly lit, the second two images look a lot like a pantry moth. Specifically, it reminds me of a very common pantry pest: Plodia interpunctella (Indian-meal ...
theforestecologist's user avatar
3 votes

what type of insect is this? is this a moth? (southeast asia - Malaysia)

Oleander Hawkmoth (Daphnis nerii) Same fellow? (From oocities.org) And a better picture from ukmoths.org.uk: For more reading, here's a wiki article.
rotaredom's user avatar
  • 2,711
3 votes
Accepted

Identification of a Lepidopteran

I didn't watch the game, but from what I've seen on the internet it was the Silver Y (Autographa gamma), drawn there by the lights while migrating http://theconversation.com/moths-expert-match-report-...
picapica's user avatar
  • 2,049
3 votes

Identification of a Lepidopteran

I couldn't really be completely sure by this picture alone so I did some searching around and turns out it is a Autographa Gamma(Silver Y)
Eleftheria Chatziargyriou's user avatar
3 votes

Insect species identification

It is a moth and all moths and butterflies belong to the order of Lepidoptera. Based on the shape of the forewing and the orange color of the hindwings I think this moth belongs to the genus Catocala ...
RHA's user avatar
  • 3,657
3 votes
Accepted

Species-ID: What is this thing attached to my wall (California, USA)

This is very likely a chrysalis (or pupa) stage of a lepidopteran. A similar looking example belongs to the giant swallowtail butterfly (Papilio cresphontes). Source: Bill Frank P. cresphontes is ...
theforestecologist's user avatar

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