Scientific name: Hypercompe scribonia.
The giant leopard moth belongs to the family Erebidae. It has bright white wings covered with dark, round blotches in a manner that resembles a snow leopard.
It has a distinctive color pattern. When it spreads its wings, its colorful abdomen becomes visible with shiny blue and orange spots. The wingspan is about 7.6cm, and the average male grows to an average length of 5.1cm while the female counterparts grow up to 3cm. Their mating session is exceptionally long and can last for about 24 hours or even more.
Username: Apon_manush Published on 2024-12-11 14:39:58 ID NUMBER: 126575
Moths are winged flying insects. They are a paraphyletic group of insects that consists of all members of the order Lepidoptera, excluding butterflies.
Lepidoptera, which translates to “scaly-winged,” is an order of insects whereby insects undergo a larval stage popularly known as a caterpillar, a pupal stage known as chrysalis, or cocoon, and the adult stage known as butterfly or moth. Many people often confuse moths with butterflies, but they differ from each other.
There are about 160,000 unique species of the nocturnal flying moth1, except for a few species active during the day, like the sphinx moth, day moth, and buck moth. On the other hand, moths’ close relative, the butterfly, has 17,500 species. There are nearly 11,000 species of moth in the United States and 2,500 in the United Kingdom.
Like all insects, moths have six legs, two antennae, a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. They have a life span of six months to three years. Furthermore, moths range in size from a few millimeters to the largest moth species with a wingspan of 10 inches (25cm).
In addition, moths are diverse in their ecology. Moths inhabit places like farmlands, gardens, woodlands, marshlands, sand dunes, and even mountains. They also tend to lay eggs within cracks, near plumbing fixtures, and other dark areas. Moths come in various types, from the familiar brown house moth to multicolored, unique ones.
Scientific name: Chrysiridia rhipheus,
This beautifully colored moth can be mistaken for a butterfly because of its color. It has a wingspan of between 3.25 inches and 4 inches. This moth lives in Madagascar with a background color of black, and its wings are especially showy, with many tails.
This hind wing has a blue band, and there are also green band dots and stippling on the forewings. Also, the moth gets its name from the sunset-colored patches near the bottom of its hind wings—little wonder why it is often referred to as one of the most beautiful insects.
However, the colorful wings aren't simply for the pleasure of humankind as they warn predators that the moth is toxic.
Scientific name: Actias luna,
Another brightly colored moth is the Luna Moth, a type of silk moth. It’s also known as the American moon moth. Its species name is Actias luna, common in the United States and Mexico. It’s a part of the Saturniidae family, the giant silk moth family. The family also consists of the Japanese silk moth and emperor moth, and as with other giant silkworm moths, they exist to lay eggs and don't eat anything as adults.
It’s one of the prettiest moths, with a wingspan of 3 to 4.25 inches. The wing is colored in luminous pale lime-green or blue-green. The wings each have an eyespot attached to them with a band of brown. The hind wing also has scalloped eyespots and beautiful long tails that aid its identification as a moth. Luna moth male and female species are identical, though the male has fuzzier antennae. The white body is fat and covered with pale fur.
Scientific name: Agarista agricola.
Large Agarista, otherwise known as Joseph's Coat Moth, is another of the world's most beautiful and brightly colored moths. It has black wings with streaks and blotches and yellow, white, blue, and red bands. It has a hind wing fringed with white, and the thorax - the segment between the head and abdomen is yellow.
Its wingspan is between 2.5 inches and 2.75 inches, with a metallic glimmer in its blue wing. It also has a cape of cream or white color and feeds on species of wild grapevines.
Scientific name: Hypercompe scribonia.
The giant leopard moth belongs to the family Erebidae. It has bright white wings covered with dark, round blotches in a manner that resembles a snow leopard.
It has a distinctive color pattern. When it spreads its wings, its colorful abdomen becomes visible with shiny blue and orange spots. The wingspan is about 7.6cm, and the average male grows to an average length of 5.1cm while the female counterparts grow up to 3cm. Their mating session is exceptionally long and can last for about 24 hours or even more.
Scientific name: Dysphania militaris.
This moth is another moth that people often mistake for a butterfly, perhaps due to its bright coloration; that looks like some swallowtail butterflies. We can find it in Southeast Asia with a wingspan of about 3.5 inches.
The head, thorax, and abdomen are golden yellow with purple bands. Also, the forewings have half golden yellow, with the other outer half purple.
Scientific name: Attacus atlas.
The atlas moth falls under the Saturniidae family. It’s one of the largest moths in the world, with a wingspan of around 10 inches (25cm). These brown moths have brightly colored orange-brown wings with triangular markings of white, and black stripes, yellowish patterned margins, and a round orange-brown body.
Its antennae of two long filaments make it look like a fish skeleton. They live in forests and shrublands in Southeast Asia. As beautiful as these adult moths are, they have a short life span. The atlas moth only lives a few weeks once it’s out of its cocoons.
Scientific name: Smerinthus jamaicensis.
Twin-spotted sphinx moths belong to the family Sphingidae along with others like the rosy maple moth and white-lined sphinx moth. This sphinx moth has a large wingspan of 2 to 3 inches.
This sphinx moth has stunning blue eyespots on its hind wing. The colors on its wings are beige-brown, white and pinkish-red, and yellow markings. The larger wedge-shaped forewings are yellowish-brown with shades of dark brown and white markings. You’ll find this sphinx moth spread across North America.
Scientific name: Dryocampa rubicunda.
This moth species possesses bright colors. It has pink legs, a yellow body, and striped pink and yellow wings. The rosy maple moth is native to North America, specifically temperate forests in eastern North America. These moths get their name from their tree of preference, the maple tree.
Scientific name: Automeris io.
The IO moth, also known as the peacock moth, sports these incredible colors and patterns on their wings. We can find this moth in North America, where we can find the plant species that the caterpillars enjoy eating, such as willow and pear. This nocturnal moth can grow as large as 8cm.
Scientific name: Macroglossum stellatarum.
Out of the members of the hawk moth family members, hummingbird hawk moths are probably the most attractive and cutest. They have grayish-brown forewings and orange hindwings. Their colorful hindwings become evident in their rapid flight.
Hummingbird moths get their name because of their feeding behavior, similar to hummingbirds, with their long proboscis or nose. Also, they hover over flowers and make humming sounds just like hummingbirds. They belong to the family Sphingidae, along with others like the oleander hawk moth.
Scientific name: Hyalophora cecropia.
Cecropia moths are cute moths famous for their brilliant colors and large size. This cute moth has a reddish body and reddish-brown wings with bands of white and tan, and orange markings. The cecropia moth has a wingspan of 5 to 6 inches. It’s the largest moth in North America.
They are hard to spot as they are mainly nocturnal and live primarily in rocky mountains of the United States and Canada. You’ll find the moth larvae on cherry trees, maple trees, and birch trees.
Scientific name: Tyria jacobaeae.
When it comes to ranking cute moths, there is no doubt that cinnabar moths make the list; both the adult and larvae moths are colorful. It has a bright orange body, red markings on its forewings, and scarlet on its hindwings.
The bright color of the larvae serves as a warning to predators. Cinnabar moths live in meadows, wastelands, and downlands.
Scientific name: Arctia caja.
The attractive coloration and patterns on the hindwings of this moth make it cute and appealing. The garden tiger is a pretty colorful moth found in North America and Eurasia.
It has white with attractive black markings on its forewings and orange with many black spots on its hindwings. Their colorful hindwings are warnings to predators. Garden tiger moths display their colorful hindwings when threatened. They secrete poisonous fluid from their body when a threat persists.
Scientific name: Antheraea polyphemus.
The polyphemus moth is easy to spot with its striking eyespots on both fore and hind wings. The hind wings’ eye spots are large, with yellow as the primary color and black-white strings.
The forewings spots are also yellow but smaller in size. It has a wingspan of 15cm. Their wings are not just widely spread but are also colorful with red, grey, and brown shades. It gets its name from the cyclops in Greek mythology called Polyphemus because of its sizeable solitary eyespot in the middle of its hind wings.
Scientific name: Pyrrharctia isabella.
This is another species of moth that can be classified as one of the cute moths. It’s notable for its multi-colored larvae with black-brown-red segments. People also know this as the banded woolly bear.
The adult moth has a pale yellow, scaly body and orange-yellow wings with a marked forewing. Woolly bears are endemic to the Southern United States of America and Canada.
Scientific name: Manduca quinquemaculata.
This moth is a part of the hawkmoth group, meaning that it’s relatively large with a long proboscis. The five spotted hawkmoths are the Sphingidae family's brown and grey hawk moth. It’s a threat to all Solanaceae plant family crops, including tomato, tobacco, potato, and pepper.
They are a major pest in gardens. They get their name from the raising of their posterior end and their use of tomatoes as host plants.
Scientific name: Cydia pomonella.
The codling moth has a wingspan of about 1.2 to 1.8cm, and it's about 1cm long when at rest with the wings folded. It has a grey-brownish-pale color. This moth originated in Asia but has spread out to all continents except Antarctica.
It’s the primary insect pest of pome fruits like apples and pears. The larvae not only feed on the leaves of these fruits but also on the fruits themselves. They are highly dependent on fruits as a food source. Consequently, these insects cause damage and loss since every fruit they munch on becomes unsellable.
Scientific name: Plutella xylostella.
Diamondback moths feast on any crop in the Brassicaceae plant family. They also feed on floral stalks and flower buds. Adult moths are small, slender, and greyish brown. The male moth has three diamond markings on its back. The damage diamondback moths cause is not so much from feeding but the contamination the pupae cause.
Scientific name: Mamestra brassicae.
The cabbage moth is one alarming pest for farmers. Cabbage moth is simply a common name as the species feeds on many fruits, vegetables, and crops in the genus Brassica - cabbage, broccoli, and brussels sprouts. It also eats tomato plants, potatoes, and other important crops. It’s a major pest for all brassicas.
The giant leopard moth (Hypercompe scribonia) is a moth of the family Erebidae. They are distributed through North America from southern Ontario, and southern and eastern United States through New England, Mexico, and south to Colombia.[2][3] The obsolete name, Ecpantheria scribonia, is still occasionally encountered.
Scientific name: Hypercompe scribonia.
The giant leopard moth belongs to the family Erebidae. It has bright white wings covered with dark, round blotches in a manner that resembles a snow leopard.
It has a distinctive color pattern. When it spreads its wings, its colorful abdomen becomes visible with shiny blue and orange spots. The wingspan is about 7.6cm, and the average male grows to an average length of 5.1cm while the female counterparts grow up to 3cm. Their mating session is exceptionally long and can last for about 24 hours or even more.
Light- It prefers bright, indirect lighting. Leaves and flowers can be damaged by too much direct light.
Water- Keep the soil wet with water. Allow the soil to dry out further over the winter months before watering.
Pet friendly- No. Fido and felines are both poisoned by this plant.
Parent level- Beginner.
Pro tip- For best results, rotate the plant regularly.
The giant leopard moth (Hypercompe scribonia) is a moth of the family Erebidae. They are distributed through North America from southern Ontario, and southern and eastern United States through New England, Mexico, and south to Colombia.[2][3] The obsolete name, Ecpantheria scribonia, is still occasionally encountered.
Giant clams, standing as the largest bivalve molluscs, make their homes in the coral reefs in the Tropical Indo-Pacific region.
The record holder for size was over 4.5 feet long. Discovered in Indonesia in the early 19th century, its estimated weight was around 550 pounds when alive3.
In terms of behavior, these marine mollusks are stationary. They respond to disturbance by retracting their vibrant mantle tissue and closing their shells.
Like most bivalves, they are filter feeders. However, the zooxanthellae, a unicellular algae living symbiotically within the clam, provide most of its nourishment.
Without the ability to move, these hermaphrodites release sperm and eggs into the water, allowing nature to take its course.
The Giant Moray Eel lives in the Indo-Pacific region's rocky seafloors and coral reefs. It is the world's largest moray eel, measuring 10 feet and weighing over 66 pounds. (The Slender Giant Moray Eel is longer.) Its brown skin has a unique dark spot pattern contrasting with the colorful reefs.
Moreover, this nocturnal eel hides in crevices and caves to avoid predators and rest for its nighttime hunts for fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans.
The Giant Moray Eel also forms alliances with coral groupers to hunt prey. It chases prey into open waters while the grouper takes advantage.
The New Caledonian Giant Gecko is the largest gecko species on the planet, with adults reaching up to 17 inches in length. These types of geckos have robust bodies and large heads, with unique granular skin covering them.
Their color palette ranges from greens to browns, often decorated with patterns of varying shades, enabling them to blend into tree bark and foliage.
This type of gecko is a nocturnal predator that feeds on insects, fruits, and small mammals, occasionally indulging in cannibalism.
They also communicate through growling, barking, and hissing, which are crucial, especially during the mating season.
The Indian Giant Squirrel inhabits India's rainforests. It is one of the largest squirrels in the world, with a body length ranging from 25 to 45 cm and a tail that can grow up to 60 cm.
The squirrel's coat is a mix of chestnut, maroon, black, and white, and its big, round eyes help it see in the dense forests where it lives.
Indian Giant Squirrels live alone, high up in trees, constructing large, globe-like nests from twigs and leaves.
They eat fruits, flowers, nuts, tree bark, insects, and bird eggs and play an essential role in spreading seeds and helping new plants grow.
Besides their impressive size and colorful appearance, Indian Giant Squirrels are skilled acrobats. They hang upside down from branches, stretching their bodies to reach their food.
The Black Giant Squirrel has a striking black coat contrasted by cream to cinnamon hues on its underparts. Their body can grow up to 15 inches while their tails can be twice as long.
It's an arboreal animal found in Southeast Asia's mature forests that feeds on seeds, nuts, fruits, leaves, insects, bird eggs, and young birds.
Like oriental giant squirrels, this squirrel rarely ventures to the ground, preferring the trees' safety, where it communicates with its fellow squirrels through distinct calls.
The giant Chinese salamander is a critically endangered salamander species. It is the world’s largest amphibian. Chinese salamanders have an average length of 1 meter and weigh 11 kg. Their bodies are heavily built and flat, with short but sturdy limbs.
They can live for up to 60 years. The conservation status of giant Chinese salamanders is critically endangered. Researchers could only find 24 giant Chinese salamanders in the wild. Excessive hunting by humans caused an alarming decline in their population.
The Giant Otters or Giant River Otters are the largest otter species in the world, standing tall at 5.5 feet, including the tail, and weighing 70 pounds.
These social creatures live in the rivers and streams of South America. These diurnal carnivores mainly eat fish, but they also eat crabs, snakes, and small caimans.
Additionally, the Giant Otter is the most vocal among otter species. A study discovered 22 unique vocalizations among adults and 11 in baby otters3.
