A couple of nights ago, I met a huge black moth right when I was opening the driveway‘s door. I had just got home from work and it was dark already. When I first saw the black wings flapping I thought it was a bat, but no, it was quite a big black butterfly.
Sorry about the dry bits of grass on top of the LiftMaster garage door opener. They belong to a bird who decided that it was a good place to build a nest, but if you take a closer look, part of one wing of the butterfly is visible. I was a bit worried about closing the driveway’s door, because the moth was sitting on the chain.
But, it moved. When I pushed the close button, the butterfly flew away and got stuck to the ceiling, upside down. I tried to take a closer look and noticed this moth had dark but colorful patterns on its wings, but my camera was not able to catch them, so I had to play with iPhoto to get these…
The patterns ranged from a brownish red to some purple and green bits. I tried de-saturating the photo to get these other color patterns, but still, they don’t do justice to this beautiful black butterfly.
Actually, some people over here consider black moths to bring bad luck, especially if one of them visits you at night. They say they come to announce someone will die. I just regard this as folks tales. I think it was a real pretty butterfly and it’s a shame the sun had already set, otherwise I would have been able to photograph its wonderful pattern. Next morning, I went to check if the butterfly was still there, but no, it had flown away. I wonder what kind of butterfly it was.
Butterflies and moths are amongst the most beautiful creatures on earth. How nice to get a visit from such a spectacular moth, even if you couldn’t get the most out of the photograph.
It was huge and beautiful. At least I got to see it, even if the photos don’t do justice to the real one. Thank you Munchow.
I’m not a fan of birds and then after visiting the butterfly farm I’m scared of them too (something to do with the flapping motion) but I’ve always been scared of moths! My grandma used to tell me as a child they were souls of the dead. Not to sure why she would say such a thing, maybe to scare and have a laugh but it’s always stuck with me and creeped me out! I would of screamed if it moved and ran away! hehe xx
Ha, ha, ha, I love all of these superstitions and folks tales about insects and other creatures. Thanks for stopping by.
Wow, interesting. I have not seen a moth that large, and I did know about the tale of it’s bad luck.
I did not know these huge butterflies existed either, and yes, over here there are loads and loads of folk tales and superstitions.
I have never seen anything like that before! How spectacular to find it in your own yard! Thanks for sharing!
It was really big, more than five inches long and around 8″ wide, quite a beauty.
You were privileged to see it. We sometimes get hawk-moths in our garden and they’re truly beautiful too. Glad you managed to get some pictures.
Thank you. I wished I could have captured its colors a bit better, but it was dark already.
I feel sure that your Giant Black Moth is Ascalapha odorata – Black Witch Moth. You can see photos and more info about it at: http://bugguide.net/node/view/23779#range I viewed your post on the Dragonfly Woman site and was curious about it. I have a hobby of photographing and identifying moths in the Florida area. Pete Williams
Thank you so much! A Witch Moth!!!