Comments for
White spotted moth (Giant Leopard moth)

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leopard moth
by: Luke

This moth is on my door and has been for two days very pretty.
GIANT LEOPARD MOTH
by: Moni

Krisdee & Milo
Moths do fly at night and it might take it a day or two to fill out its wings and get ready to fly away. It might also be waiting for warmer weather, a mate to come by, or other things we humans don't know? :-).
Make sure to put it outside near some plants that the larvae eat... broad-leaved plants, including banana, cabbage, cherry, dandelion, maple, orange, sunflower, violet, and willow.

You could gently have it crawl on your finger and place it on a maple or willow tree...up off the ground so something like a mouse does not eat it. A teaching tool for your sensitive son is that part of nature is life and death...and if this moth is not to fly away then that is what is suppose to happen. (God works in strange ways, we don't understand sometimes)
NOTE - If it dies you could put it in a special box to show and tell at school or keep. They last a long time if protected in a container. I have insects that were collected 40+ years ago! (I do keep mothballs with mine to keep pests from damaging them - dried insects are fragile)

Fantastic job raising it to the moth stage!!!That is a great accomplishment!! Something you and your son should be proud of!
Moth Won't Fly Away
by: Krisdee & Milo

We raised a wooly bear caterpillar & discovered yesterday that it has become a Giant Leopard Moth. It would not fly away so we left the lid off of the terrarium it is in overnight, but it is still there this morning. My sensitive young son is worried it will die. We read that it probably does not need to eat, but we would like for it to go reproduce. Is there anything you know of that might be wrong, or that we can do to help it?
Thank you,
Krisdee & Milo
sooooo coooool
by: Anonymous

My boyfriend and I went outside and ran into this bug.it was truly an amazing sight! thought I had discovered a new species but found out otherwise. Anyway, these creatures are so cool!
Giant Leopard moth
by: Moni

Anonymous
Sounds like a great plan...if you send us any photos of insects you need ID'ed we would be glad to help your project.
Insects and nature in general do not judge, so it is a great subject for kids. Perhaps they can do some clean-up or bird feeding projects at a park or nature center?? Sometimes helping "critters" is a way to connect to nature. Good luck and thanks for your efforts!
Giant Leapord
by: Anonymous

I work night shift at a rehab for kids in E. Tx &
I saw this moth last night at work. It is so beautiful!!!
1st thing I did was come home & Googled Texas moths & found this wonderful site!
I was able to find 4 other species here!
I am going to ask for permission to take pics of all the fantastic nocturnal incest life & mammals we have.
I think it will inspire some of the kids I work with to appreciate the nature around them during their recovery & to focus on a future of science & discovery.
Thank you so much for providing this website!
Giant Leopard moth eggs
by: Moni

Rin
The female usually lays her eggs on a wide variety of host plants- including violets, plantains, dandelion, cherries, maples, and willows whose leaves are eaten by her larvae. She probably dies soon after laying eggs so will not eat. Since you put her on your sunglasses she was exposed to lights when she needed darkness to fly to a host plant...so she laid them where she was.
It would be best to put the sunglasses out where there are plants that the larvae like to eat. Like put them in a patch of dandelions or plantains. It will not be long before they hatch and you can get your sunglasses back. In fact by the time you read this they may be hatching.

It is best to get them back to the nature where they will survive the best. However, if you are dedicated and want to rear them then you have to provide FRESH food constantly for the caterpillars to grow properly.
Here is a web site about rearing moths and mentions the Giant leopard moth...other sites listed to the right will tell more about rearing moths. - http://www.buglifecycle.com/?page_id=367
Help!
by: Rin

I live in North Carolina. I found a Giant Leopard Moth in a pool, fished her out, and he seems to be fine other than some wing injuries (she can't fly). I have been carrying her around since yesterday and she laid eggs on my sunglasses. I didn't really know what to do with them, so I tapped them off onto a square of moss in a box I made for her. I have no idea how or what to feed her (she won't eat sugar water or anything) or how to take care of the eggs. Please help me.
Giant Leopard moth eggs
by: Moni

Dru T
It would be best to put the tire near some plants...a weedy patch or something like that if you can. The caterpillars of this moth eat a large variety of broad-leaved plants, including banana, cabbage, cherry, dandelion, maple, orange, sunflower, violet, and willow. They will hatch soon and move to the plants...then you can put the tire away.

If you try to brush them into the weeds you might crush the eggs.

Thank you for the concern about such a neat critter!
Leopard Moth left eggs!
by: Dru T

I work in a warehouse and spotted the moth on a tire here. I let her sit there all day and then when I left work for the day took her outside. Today I noticed that she left eggs behind on the tire. Should I clean these up? Will they hatch on the surface that is probably not a normal place for her to lay eggs?
found one
by: Anonymous

I found a White Spotted Moth (Giant Leopard Moth) on the parking lot at the aiport this morning. It crawled onto a paper for me, and I brought it home to show everyone and to see what it is.
Giant Leopard moth
by: Moni

Jewel
Please read the comment on the bottom of the comment page to read about this moth. :-)
i found one too!
by: jewel

my grammy had one on6/19/09!does enyone know what it is called?
Giant leopard moth
by: Moni

Anonymous
They are not rare at all. It is just being at the right place at the right time! :-)

Since I have seen the caterpillar in my yard - I know the moth is there somewhere - it is just seeing it when it is around.
Us too!
by: Anonymous

We have one in our neighbors yard in Cranberry Twp, PA. How rare are they?
Giant Leopard moth
by: Moni

P landis
Glad you found one! I have seen the caterpillar here but have not seen the adult yet in Iowa.
I have one in Pennsylvania
by: p landis

It is beautiful. I didn't know what it was. I let it crawl on me for a few minuets and then put it on a plant. Its about 1 1/2 inches . It's body is a wonderful color too.
sorry ,,, I'm not techy so I can not take a picture.
Amazing
by: Cid White

Nature is nothing short of miraculous! Beautiful!
Giant Leopard moth
by: Moni

Henry
One other entry for Insect ID was of the caterpillar. So if you look for this title and view the caterpillar of your moth.
"Spikey Black Crawler with Red Rings"
Moth, what beauty
by: Nadine

I love it, I wish I had it in my garden. I have never seen one some beautiful before. Wow, I always though they were so boring. Not this one.
Giant leopard moth
by: Moni

Henry
You have a Giant Leopard moth laying eggs on your porch. I am jealous!
This insect overwinters as a caterpillar, then emerges as this beautiful moth in the spring. The larva grows to a long 'fuzzy' black caterpillar that will curl up quickly when disturbed - at that time you see the red bands between the black hairs. These caterpillars become about 2" long. They feed on many broadleaved plants including dandelion, cherry, maple, willow, cabbage. It mostly feeds on non economic plants so it is not a pest at all.
Enjoy watching all the stages as it develops! You could send us photos of each stage...would love to see a photo of the eggs!
Here is a site with photos.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/493/bgimage

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