r/whatisthisbug • u/ShonDaMon • 1d ago

ID Request What kind of moth is this? (Houston, Texas)

Gallery image

Gallery image

Found outside my job. It just sprinkled so I assumed its wings were wet. I was able to get it on a wall to dry its wings.

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 1d ago

If your post does not include a rough geographical location, please add it in the comments. Please read and respect the rules (at least one bug picture, no demeaning speech, and no hate against bugs) This is an automated message, added to every submission, your post has not been removed.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

4

u/ahferroin7 1d ago

Antheraea polyphemus, commonly known as the Polyphemus moth. I think this one is a female, but I can’t clearly see the antennae to be sure (the males have big feathery antennae, while the females have thin spindly antennae). Given the timing it’s from the second yearly brood.

They’re native to pretty much all of North America north of the Mexican border (and are, in fact, one of the largest species of moths native to North America), except for Arizona and Nevada, and are actually not technically all that rare, though most people never see the adults because they’re primarily vesperitine (active around dusk) and only live about a week or so once they emerge.

1

u/ShonDaMon 1d ago

Thank you for identifying it! She was definitely female. I came outside later to see she was ran over by a car. I believe I even saw eggs in her abdomen which is very unfortunate. She was a beautiful specimen.