It was on my screen. Never seen one like this before. At least I think it's a moth. Maybe it's a fly in drag.



fltsfshr

 

Florida has some of the strangest looking insects and other creatures that I have ever seen.

 

I have seen it in Mississippi, so it must be common in the south. Do a google search of "pictures of moths".

 

I think that it may be Elton Fly.

 

Looks like Elton John to me.

 

^....it true!

 

fltsfshr... Your moth is so gorgeous I had to find out what kind it was myself! Though I thought it looked like Elton John to me, too... I found that it is called a Greenstriped Mapleworm (Dryocamma rubicunda) -or- a Rosy Maple Moth (no, not after Rosie O'Donald... )
It has a wingspread of 1.5 to two inches. The forewings are rose-red crossed by a broad pale yellow band. The body is yellow with the underside and legs rose-red.
The male is slightly smaller than the female. The full grown caterpillar is about 1.5 inches long, pale yellowish-green and striped with alternate pale yellow-green and darker green lines. The head is cherry red. On the second segment behind the head are two long, slender, slightly curved black horns. Short black spines occur along the sides of the body. On the lower side of the body near the rear is a rose colored area. The preferred food is leaves of silver and red maples but they occasionally feed on box elder and oaks. Large colonies of caterpillars sometimes strip host trees in the mid-west.
Check out this link (aboaut 3/4 of the way down the page): http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ent...misc/ef008.htm

 

This ones a bit out of it's habitat then, I'm on the S tip of Fl and we don't have maple trees or box elder here. There's a bit of scrub oak around but not like the red or white oak.


I know. It's a Snowmoth on vacation.




fltsfshr