Would like some help identifying this moth...

This showed up on my porch steps last night (I'm near Richmond VA). I've never seen anything like this guy (gal?). The wingspan is around 4 inches or so (with them folded back as in the picture). Needless to say, trying a Google search for 'green moth' brings up a lot of results...and none of them look like this. Any ideas?

Dianne

Dianne,
Never seen one like that but it is nice looking. This site might help it lists VA moths.
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/RESOURCE/D...THS/va/toc.htm
If you do manage to identify it please post it.
Respectfully,

Thanks for the link! That was just the ticket.

He, or she, is a Pandorus sphinx (Eumorpha pandorus). The one pictured on thier site was slightly paler in color (or maybe faded since it was a picture of an obviously mounted specimen with wings spread). Even so, the moth I found is clearly recognizable as the same creature.

Thanks again!

Dianne

Neat moth, sphinxes are very variable in coloration and size, and are neat animals to look at... My father's an Entomology professor here on campus at Ole Miss (University MS), if you ever need anyone to look at and/or identify something for you, I will do so if you're interested. I kinda grew up with it, you know . We've had a fantastic explosion of Polyphemus and Luna moths this year, and (as dorky as it sounds ) I've been processing a few to put in glass dome displays to sell at shows, as well as the traditional "riker" mounts (glass fronted cotton filled boxes). Anyhow, before I start to sound like the "bug guy".....
-Eric Lago *MS Reptilian Hobbyists*
http://msreptilianhobbyists.fabpage.com

Eric,

Thanks for the offer. I must admit I'm not much of a bug girl (prefer my pets have four legs or less) and I typically avoid them, but it would be great to learn more about the critters around my home. Moths in general don't bother me though and this guy was just so spectacular that I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of him. So far this year, I've only seen one Luna moth (down in NC when I was visiting a friend) and it was pretty beaten up at that point. I remember seeing the Lunas often as a kid, as well as these huge yellowish-gold moths, but these days the Lunas seem considerably more scarce and I haven't seen one of the yellow guys since I was a kid (more than a couple of years ago lol). For that matter, a lot of the butterflies I saw regularly growing up are rarely seen in my area these days. My mom had planted the property with a rainbow of azaleas & flowering bulbs, so we always had monarchs around as well as these huge yellow & black butterflies and slightly smaller black & blue ones, not to mention tons of even smaller guys that would take forever to describe. I can't remember the last time I saw a monarch or one of the black & blue butterflies, and I can only recall seeing one or two of the yellow & black ones this year.

I think growing up in a home with an Entomology professor would have been pretty cool (maybe I wouldn't have grown up so skittish of bugs! lol). As far as mounting them goes, I think it's pretty cool. The only up-close mounts I've seen are from a guy who was selling them at a craft show some years back. He had a stunning variety of moths and butterflies from all over the world. They're such beautiful creatures, I can see where the mounted specimens would have great appeal. Speaking of moth and butterfly mounting, I recently read a book called something like 'A Girl of the Limberlost' in which the main character was a moth & butterfly collector. Really interesting read.

Dianne

That's cool, it's an interesting hobby, but coming up in the BIO department on campus, I couldn't help growing into a love for animals, mostly reptiles... The black and yellow butterflies are commonly called tiger swallowtails, the black/blues are a different species of swallowtail (not sure the common name), and the big yellow/pink moths are "imperial moths", the caterpillars being very interesting, extremely large (can be 7+ inches!!!) and covered in spikes, commonly known as "hickory horned devils". Sadly, habitat loss runs many species of moths and butterflies to ruin, and areas once covered in them now have scarce or absent populations. However, here in north MS where not all that much has been over-industrialized, our lepidoptera (moths/butterflies) are still diverse, and we have loads of cool animals, sphinxes, lunas, sulfur butterflies, fritallaries, ect. My problem is, since I'm still a college student, I just don't have the time/space/money it takes to maintain a collection of any value, but after I graduate I may piece together a collection eventually, some of the south american/african/madagascan insects are REALLY spectacular animals, and you either have to trade for or buy the cool stuff like that.... Anyhow, won't take up any more of your time! -Eric Lago *MS Reptilian Hobbyists*
http://msreptilianhobyists.fabpage.com