Moths have known night fliers, often considered as pests in many parts of the world.
But did you know that some moth species are good pollinators?
Did you also know that they come in different shapes, colors, and sizes?
In this article
What is a moth?
Entomologically, moths belong to the familyLepidoptera.Its most famous cousins are butterflies and also skippers.
It has more than16,000 speciesand are all nocturnal fliers.
It is only available in tropical to subtropical climates.
The largest species of moths are typically brown with dust-like particles from their bodies.
On average, they have a wingspan ranging from 4-30mm.
Moth symbolism
The moth holds a wide range of double-edged symbolism across cultures.
In the Navaho culture, their characteristic of being drawn to the light may indicate madness or foolishness.
What does it mean when a moth lands on you?
Black moths are believed to be harbingers of evil or death.
In their pupa stage, butterflies are enclosed in silkless chrysalises while moths are wrapped in silky cocoons.
Moth identification
There are 160,000 recorded moth species.
An example of this would beDiscover Life.
Types of moths
1.
It has a wing size of at least 12inches and a surface area of at least 400sq.cm.
They are also unique for being one of the moth species with no mouth.
It is endemic to Brazil and the rest of south-central America.
They are called as such because of the brown and white tufts of hairs surrounding their abdomen.
Outbreaks of brown-tail moths infesting orchards are well-archived.
The most extreme happened at around 1720 in the UK.
It has small antennae, eye-like markings, and golden yellow wings.
They are also avoided by predators because their vibrant color essentially suggests that they are poisonous.
This is so because their larvae cannot feed on leaves allowing premature ripening to take place.
They do not grow very large, only attaining a wingspan of 20mm.
Comet moth (Argema mittrei)
This is a very unique looking moth native to the rainforests of Madagascar.
It is named as such because of its long tails that could reach up to 15cm.
They do not have mouths and they have a relatively short lifespan.
It has the most symbolic value as it is associated with bad omens or as a symbol of death.
Its genus is called Acherontia from Acheron or the underworlds River of Pain.
It has a prominent dark brown color and white/light brown streaks.
They sport translucent wings and granular, almost 3D dots across the length of their wings.
They also have fine-haired heads that are really fluffy.
They look magical and they are also very rare.
It is endemic to Mexico and the US.
However, their spines are venomous and could really cause a sting that could lead to inflammation when untreated.
In appearance, they look like a brighter colored bee.
Its belly is often dark blue with prominent orange markings and midnight blue legs with white bands.
It is an Eribidae with at least 76mm of wingspan.
Female gypsy moths have a larger wingspan than males.
The European gypsy moth in particular is very unique since they are flightless.
Japanese female moths are very attracted to lights and Asian gypsy moths have dark brown, larger male species.
Hag moth (Phobetron pithecium)
It is one of the species in the slug moth family.
Its larvae are odd-looking with a body covered in short, dark brown fine hairs and tentacle-like arms.
At maturity, the hag moth will remain extra hairy up to the legs.
Their wings are translucent and it is their black and brown hair tufts that give them their color.
Hercules moth (Coscinocera hercules)
Caterpillars of this moth typically feed on the bleeding heart tree.
It is considered as the largest moth key in in the whole word native to Queensland.
It has a wingspan reaching up to 27cm.
Its caterpillar will weave silk cocoons in the trees it will feed on.
Female Hercules moths are more stout and with shorter tails than the males.
It stops feeding when it reaches the moth stage and will only get to live for 14days.
It is small, dull-colored, and a wingspan of only one and a half inches.
They have yellow wings, brown lines, and black spots.
They have caterpillars with long black spines that could sting.
They niche on large trees includingoaks,pines, andmaples.
As such, it is also called grain moth or flour moth.
It thrives in tropical climates unique for its red-brown forewings and tinges of bronze and dark gray.
It has a wingspan of 20mm and a body at a length of 10mm.
It thrives in great abundance in Florida.
It is popular for its multicolored larvae with black-brown-red-black segments.
They are considered as generalist feeders as they eat almost all types of plants.
It is considered as one of the largest moths in the whole of North America.
It has a maximum wingspan of 178cm.
It has long, curving tails with either green, black, yellow, red, or blue eyespots.
They can be fatal specifically their sting during the caterpillar stage because milkweed sap contains cardiac glycosides.
Army cutworms become miller moths at maturity with a lifespan of only three weeks.
They have dusty, pale brown wings and some dark brown linings.
Owl moth (Brahmaea wallichii)
It is one of the largest species of the Brahmin moths.
They feed on fruit trees specifically fermenting fruits.
Pandora moth (Coloradia pandora)
This one is a famous pine defoliator in the western US.
Caterpillars of the pandora moth specifically love lodgepole and ponderosa pines.
This color helps them in camouflaging away from predators as they niche in lichen-filled tree trunks.
They have plump bodies with narrow, long wings.
Plume moth (Pterophoridae)
It is also called the morning glory moth because they feed on morning glories.
They look like skippers with their long and narrow, green body and wings.
They have an overall T-shape when their wings are outstretched with thin, curled legs.
Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus)
It is considered as one of the most attractive and largest silk moths.
It generally has a dark orange, pale brown, and black scattered eyespots.
Puss moth (Cerura vinula)
The name puss is taken from its cat-like color patterns.
They particularly feed on willow and aspen trees.
Regal moth (Citheronia regalis)
It is also called the royal walnut moth.
It has vintage colors of dark orange and gray-black stripes.
Sometimes it has creamy yellow color but the most prominent would be its pink and yellow color combination.
It is called such because it only feeds on maple leaves.
Saturniidae moth (saturniids)
In general, the Saturniidae is the largest moth family with 2,300 recognized species.
This moth family includes large moth types like the giant silk moth, emperor moth, and royal moths.
It is cultured in China and the Middle East and is essential in the silk garments and fabric industry.
They lay eggs in thorny bushes and could only survive for a few days.
The males fly in the daytime to mate.
Florida sports three species of the tussock moth.
It has odd-looking but vibrantly colored, spiny caterpillars.
Vampire moth (Calyptra thalictri)
It gets its name for being a vertebrate bloodsucker.
It has to be noted though that only male vampire moths do this.
They could last to up to 50minutes of blood-sucking made evident by red sores.
It is not fatal to humans though.
Venezuelan poodle moth
Documented only in 2009, this one looks straight out of Pokemon.
Yucca moth (Tegeticula yuccasella)
They are named as such because they only feed on yucca plants.
They are endemic in south-central America, the USA, and southern Canada.
They usually have pale colors of cream or light brown.
They also have flushes of tan sometimes.
Why are moths bad?
Most importantly, small moths flying inside the home could be poisonous when accidentally ingested.
How do you get a moth out of your room?
There are many ways to get rid of moths in your room.
Here is a rundown of what you’re able to do to prevent moths from infesting your room.
At best, they have roles to play in the balance of ecosystems.
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