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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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
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).
...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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-...
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. ...
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 ...
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
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 ...
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:
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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/
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 ...
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.
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-...
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)
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 ...
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 ...
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