Best Erebid
The white witch (Thysania agrippina) is a giant Neotropical moth belonging to the erebid family. It’s notable for its exceptionally large wingspan, often exceeding 28 centimeters – a record among moths. This species is primarily found in Central and South America. Entomologists, lepidopterists, and...
The Black Witch (Ascalapha odorata) is a massive migratory moth belonging to the Noctuidae family, commonly known as erebids. It’s the largest noctuoid moth found in North America, reaching impressive sizes. This American species is particularly notable due to its substantial wingspan and distinctiv...
The Clifden nonpareil is a large European moth belonging to the *Catocala* genus. It’s notable for its striking blue and black coloration on its hindwings, making it one of the largest moths in Europe. Primarily found across continental Europe, this species occasionally appears as a rare visitor in...
The vampire moth, *Calyptra thalictri*, is a unique Asian moth belonging to the erebidae family. Notably, male moths possess specialized proboscises capable of piercing skin and feeding on vertebrate blood. This behavior primarily affects humans and small animals. Researchers studying insect physiol...
The Isabella tiger moth, *Pyrrharctia isabella*, is a North American moth belonging to the erebid family. Notably, it exhibits striking orange and white coloration resembling the woolly bear caterpillar. This appearance has long fueled folklore regarding winter forecasts, though scientific evidence...
The scarlet-bodied wasp moth (Cosmosoma myrodora) is a Florida-native clearwing moth that mimics wasps in appearance and uses pyrrolizidine alkaloids gathered from plants as a chemical courtship gift to females.
The dark crimson underwing (Catocala sponsa) is a species of moth belonging to the family Erebidae, primarily found in oak woodlands across southern and central Europe. Its forewings are mottled with grey and brown, providing camouflage against tree bark when at rest. When disturbed, it reveals its...
The herald moth (Scoliopteryx libatrix) is a medium-sized moth found across the Holarctic region, including Europe, Asia, and North America. The species was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 and belongs to the family Erebidae. It is one of relatively few moth species that overwinters as a fully dev...
The red underwing, Catocala nupta, is a large moth found across much of Europe and parts of Asia, including Britain. At rest, its gray and brown forewings resemble tree bark and conceal vivid red hindwings crossed by black bands. When disturbed, the sudden display of color can startle a predator, af...
The cream-spot tiger (Epicallia villica) is a boldly patterned European arctiid with black-and-white forewings and orange-red hindwings bearing black spots, occurring in southern England and across continental Europe.
The wood tiger (Arctia plantaginis) is a Holarctic moth notable for extreme geographic variation in hindwing coloration, making it a model organism for studies of warning coloration and polymorphism in the UK and Scandinavia.
The yellow-collared scape moth (Cisseps fulvicollis) is a North American day-flying moth that mimics distasteful insects with its dark wings and orange-yellow collar, and whose larvae feed on grasses and lichens.
The black arches, scientifically known as Lymantria monacha, is a species of moth belonging to the family Erebidae. It is distributed throughout the Palearctic realm, spanning Europe and across to Japan. First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, the moth features distinctive white wings marked with...
The ruby tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa) is a widespread Holarctic moth with dark brown forewings and vivid red hindwings, found across Europe and Asia with larvae feeding on low plants such as plantain and dandelion.
Granny's cloak moth (Speiredonia spectans) is a species of moth in the family Erebidae, described by Achille Guenée in 1852. Native to Australia, this nocturnal species is notable for its large size, reaching a wingspan of approximately 70 millimeters. Its larvae primarily feed on the foliage of Aca...
The rosy footman, Miltochrista miniata, is a small moth in the family Erebidae found across much of Europe and parts of western Asia. Adults have yellow to rosy-orange forewings marked by dark spots and curved gray or black lines, while the hindwings are paler. Its larvae feed chiefly on lichens gro...
The dogbane tiger moth, Cycnia oregonensis, is a North American moth in the family Erebidae and subfamily Arctiinae. Its pale wings often have narrow yellow edging, while its caterpillars feed on dogbane and related plants whose chemical compounds can make them unpalatable to predators. Adults produ...
The pale tussock (Calliteara pudibunda) is a European moth in family Erebidae whose larvae bear conspicuous yellow tufts of hair and feed on a wide range of deciduous trees including hop, earning it the folk name 'hop dog'.
The old lady, Mormo maura, is a large nocturnal moth found across much of Europe and neighboring parts of western Asia and North Africa. Adults have broad, dark brown forewings patterned with paler, wavy markings that provide camouflage against bark and other shaded surfaces, and their wingspan can...
The banded tiger moth, Apantesis vittata, is a North American moth in the family Erebidae and subfamily Arctiinae. Its patterned forewings carry contrasting pale bands against a darker ground, while the hindwings may show brighter warning coloration. Like other tiger moths, it undergoes complete met...
The clouded buff (Diacrisia sannio) is a European moth with strong sexual dimorphism—males are orange-yellow, females paler—and flies by day on heathlands and moorlands across northern and central Europe.
The buff footman, scientifically known as Katha depressa, is a small moth belonging to the family Erebidae, subfamily Lithosiinae. Found across Europe and parts of Asia, this species is recognized by its pale yellow or buff-colored wings, which it characteristically folds tightly around its body whe...
North American arctiid moth (Apantesis virgo) with bold black-and-white forewings and red hindwings; one of several similar Apantesis species across eastern North America.
The four-spotted footman (Lithosia quadra) is Europe's largest footman moth, with females displaying distinctive black-and-yellow spotted forewings; larvae feed on lichens and algae on tree bark across woodland habitats.
The buff ermine (Spilosoma lutea) is a widespread European moth in family Erebidae distinguished from the white ermine by its warm buff-yellow forewings, active from May to August across hedgerows and gardens.
North American tiger moth (Apantesis phalerata) with distinctive yellow and black forewing patterns resembling a harness; larvae feed on low-growing herbaceous plants.
The orange footman (Eilema sororcula) is a European erebid moth with uniform orange-buff wings, one of the smaller footman species, associated with oak woodland where larvae feed on lichens and algae.
The white ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda) is a common European moth with white wings spotted black, whose hairy larvae are known as 'woolly bears' and feed on a broad range of low-growing herbaceous plants.
The red-necked footman (Atolmis rubricollis) is a European moth in family Erebidae named for its scarlet-orange thorax contrasting with dark grey wings, whose larvae feed on algae and lichens on tree bark.
The delicate cycnia (Cycnia tenera) is a slender white North American moth in family Erebidae whose larvae feed almost exclusively on dogbane and milkweed, sequestering toxins for defense.
