#sagebrush sheep moth

[onenicebugperday]

@sgnjreltwo4i2p3oqer98765oiuhyg submitted: Hello, can you help ID this sweet little thing? It was in the Sierra Nevadas, between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. Sadly I couldn't get a closer picture

Hey...how in the world do you remember your url? Lol. Anyhoo your friend here is a beeeeeaauuuuutiful sagebrush sheep moth, Hemileuca hera.

[andnowanowl]

A pair of Nuttall's sheep moths (or a close relative) getting it on in the sagebrush. Taken 8/3/24.

[ex0skeletal-undead]

Hello! I want to draw a moth oc in the style of cuphead and was wandering if you have any moths to recommend me? A white one and one of your own color choice would be good!

BOY DO I. May I suggest the white plume moth, Pterophorus pentadactyla, because they are tiny and beautiful and look like fairies. If you don't want it to be ALL white, I'm a big fan of the sagebrush sheep moth, Hemileuca hera. Also love love love the white witch, Thysania agrippina, which has the largest wingspan of any moth in the world, although they are more sorta light beige and brown than white.

If I were gonna choose a moth to base an OC around personally I might go with the princely tiger moth, Chrysocale principalis, which has some wild colors. Or maybe the Chinese moon moth, Actias dubernardi, which is so pretty it looks fake, or possibly the comet moth, Argema mittrei. Or maybe the oleander hawkmoth, Daphnis neri, which has beautiful shades of green. Wallich’s owl moth, Brahmaea wallichii, has some really cool patterns you could work with. If you wanted to get wild and base it on a caterpillar instead of an adult moth, I would recommend Citheronia phoronea, which looks like a weird spiny goth.

If none of these do it for you, I’d check out photos on inat of lepidopterans here. You can filter by family if you’re particularly into a certain type of moth :)

[dfroza]

we see such a great diversity of life on earth that originated by our Creator, but men and women (and boys and girls) are the only life made in the very image of God

[Grand Teton National Park]

Step aside butterflies, it’s time for another National Moth Week feature! Check out this photogenic sagebrush sheep moth (Hemileuca hera) who sure wasn’t sheepish in front of our camera.

You can catch these striking beauties flying during the day across the sagebrush steppe from July to September. Their thick black markings on large, pure-white wings are a dead giveaway that makes misidentification unlikely.

Yet another species that relies on the steppe for survival, sagebrush sheep moth larvae are food specialists which will only eat a select few types of sagebrush and wildflowers as they mature. Like other Saturniid moths, the adults don’t feed at all and instead rely on fat reserves gained from munching sagebrush when young. Fun fact: To avoid getting eaten, the caterpillars are covered in needle-like spines that can inject a stinging toxin, so don’t touch!

Because of their deep reliance on the sagebrush steppe ecosystem, some ecologists consider the presence of these moths to be an indicator of high-quality steppe habitat for wildlife.

#secretsofthesage #nationalmothweek #sagebrushsteppe #MothWeek

Photo courtesy of S. Wessel

7.24.21 • Facebook

[onenicebugperday]

Hi! I'm about to get started on a mothman-themed flash sheet, and I was wondering if you had any requests for cool moths to hybridize him with? Ideally North American species. Your followers are welcome to chime in too, of course!

BOY DO I.

I think a rosy maple mothman would be VERY popular. A regal moth would be very cool, too, especially if you worked in aspects of their caterpillar, the hickory horned devil!

Other cool and/or colorful favs: -io moth -sagebrush sheep moth -Lebeau's silk moth -virgin tiger moth -gaudy sphinx -giant leopard moth -princely tiger moth -Anaxita decorata (no common name) -southern flannel moth (fuzzy!!!)

I'll stop I could go on all day

Note: PLEASE share when you're done I'd love to see even if you don't use any of these suggestions :)

[onenicebugperday]

I've been making needle felt moths. May I please have a moth species to felt, oh bug sage?

OHHHH YES. I don't know anything about felting so I'm not sure which patterns would be hardest/easiest to do. How about Psilopygida walkeri? I feel like anyone who does a pink moth would choose a rosy maple moth but P. walkerri is soooo pretty. Orrr how about Citheronia laocoon, a milky tiger moth, or a sagebrush sheep moth! OR a green one would be cool. Callambulyx rubricosa comes to mind. All super cool and not over-done like some very popular and well-known species of moths. Not that those moths are any less pretty, but you know.