There’s a rumour going round that a large (as long as you hand) butterfly/moth was found off the coast of the UAE that has the face of a human woman. A friend sent me a picture of said butterfly/moth, and I could swear I’d seen the picture before.
I’ve searched the internet but haven’t come up with anything. Does anyone know if this is a species of butterfly/moth, if so what’s its name? Or if it’s a hoax that’s done the rounds somewhere else before.
I am not an entomologist. But, the linked image does seem to be a poorly lit and badly focused image of a death’s head moth. My guess is that the photo is unaltered and the marking is simply a thicker variant of the skull. This may be common within the species, or a unique mutation in this individual. Either way, it’s an orangeish oval, with some dots and lines. Granted, if you let your imagination fill in a few details, it does look like a human face. But, so does this pale yellow circle, with two dots and three lines :dubious:
The photo shows a species of sphinx moth, sometimes called a hawk moth. Many species have designs on the thorax that may look like faces or skulls. Example.
I submitted the link for the photo to the Lepidopterology Lab at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and they have definitively identified it as a rejected Hipgnosis Pink Floyd album cover.
Dr. Seamus Thorgerson commented, “I can’t be sure, but I believe it was a working draft for Saucerful of Secrets or Meddle. Let me roll up some ‘research’ and I’ll get back to you.”
