# Hey lepidopterists! Got a big 'un.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-lepidopterists-got-a-big-un/368346
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 11, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-lepidopterists-got-a-big-un/368346 "2006-08-11T20:01:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-lepidopterists-got-a-big-un/368346/1 "2006-08-11T20:01:04Z")
Can anyone please identify this mutha moth that’s parked himself on the screen door to my apartment house?
He’s about 4" across the wings from the looks of him, tan, and fuzzy. He’s got impressive feathery antennae and chubby legs, too.
I’m in Westchester, NY, about 25 mi N of NYC, if that helps.
[Pic 1](http://static.flickr.com/77/212695084_b8d576c4e1_o.jpg)
[Pic 2](http://static.flickr.com/77/212695086_fd2ed782b8_o.jpg)
---
### Author:  [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-lepidopterists-got-a-big-un/368346/2 "2006-08-11T20:06:21Z")
Correction: he’s closer to 5" wingspan(!).
---
### Author:  [@SeaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDog)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-lepidopterists-got-a-big-un/368346/3 "2006-08-11T20:09:20Z")
Good Lord, I just removed a moth from my toolbox that looked exactly like that!
I have no idea what kind it is, just thought I’d share.
---
### Author:  [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-lepidopterists-got-a-big-un/368346/4 "2006-08-11T20:10:08Z")
I’d be worried if it responds to the name Mothra.
---
### Author:  [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-lepidopterists-got-a-big-un/368346/5 "2006-08-11T20:18:10Z")
Try [this page](http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?dc=5458&_dcc=1&si=33). It’s a listing, with pictures, of moths & butterflies in your area of NY.
I looked through some of them, and the closest ones I saw were in the silk moth sections (near the bottom of the page).
---
### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-lepidopterists-got-a-big-un/368346/6 "2006-08-11T20:18:27Z")
Likely a [Polyphemus moth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus_moth).
Does it have big eyespots on the back wings? Those are usually more obvious on the Polyhemus than on the [Cecropia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecropia_moth).
---
### Author:  [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-lepidopterists-got-a-big-un/368346/7 "2006-08-11T20:19:23Z")
I found a moth image that looked like that, that was called owl-eyed moth, I could not find any further referance to “owl-eyed” but I did find “owl moth”. The name given for it (which might not be correct) is Thysania zonobia. I cannot find the moth on Wikipedia or anywhere else yet either, but maybe the name will help?
---
### Author:  [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-lepidopterists-got-a-big-un/368346/8 "2006-08-11T20:23:33Z")
> [@Squink](#):
>
> Likely a [Polyphemus moth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus_moth).
> Does it have big eyespots on the back wings? Those are usually more obvious on the Polyhemus than on the [Cecropia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecropia_moth).
Beat me to it. I was about to post the same thing.
---
### Author:  [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2006, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-lepidopterists-got-a-big-un/368346/9 "2006-08-12T00:24:24Z")
> [@Squink](#):
>
> Likely a [Polyphemus moth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus_moth)
> Does it have big eyespots on the back wings?.
Congrats, **Squink**! I think that’s my man! I came back home about 20 min ago and he was sitting on the stoop, his eyespots partially unfurled. (I say _he_ because he has those very bushy antennae referred to in your cite.)
Anyway, there he was on the stoop, and I blew on him but he didn’t stir. I think he’s winding down, nearing the end of his weeklong life as a moth.
I asked him, “Who put you down on the ground?” He cried, “NOBODY!!” 😃