# What Kind of Butterfly (or Moth) Was This?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-butterfly-or-moth-was-this/462898
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 10, 2008, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-butterfly-or-moth-was-this/462898 "2008-09-10T04:29:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@criminey.jicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminey.jicket)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2008, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-butterfly-or-moth-was-this/462898/1 "2008-09-10T04:29:17Z")
In July, a very large butterfly (moth?) settled briefly on the side of the cabin on Denman Island, which is just off the east central coast of Vancouver Island, BC. It was at least 5 inches wide, had mauveish-gray wings with mirror image white half-moons. I think the wings had a plush, almost furry look to them. It had fern-like antennae. I’m sorry but I can’t remember what the body looked like. Sadly, our camera was charging at the time, so no photos.
I’ve tried looking for it on various websites but there are so many, many of them (butterflies) and I’m not even sure it is a butterfly!
I’m hoping someone might be able to at least point me in a general direction.
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-butterfly-or-moth-was-this/462898/2 "2008-09-10T05:33:53Z")
Sounds like a [Cecropia moth](http://images.google.com/images?q=cecropia&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi).
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### Author:  [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2008, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-butterfly-or-moth-was-this/462898/3 "2008-09-10T06:18:22Z")
> [@Squink](#):
>
> Sounds like a [Cecropia moth](http://images.google.com/images?q=cecropia&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi).
Woah! Beautiful!
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2008, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-butterfly-or-moth-was-this/462898/4 "2008-09-10T07:20:22Z")
My uncle collects those things. They’re beautiful…and the caterpillar is even more amazing!
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### Author:  [@criminey.jicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminey.jicket)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-butterfly-or-moth-was-this/462898/5 "2008-09-10T14:59:48Z")
The cecropia moth is close, but I don’t recall any red in the wings. The wings were banded, but with a slightly different mauveish-gray shade than the rest of the wings. The half moons were smaller, possibly rimmed with a line of black, and they were more precisely a half moon shape than a comma.
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-butterfly-or-moth-was-this/462898/6 "2008-09-10T16:32:09Z")
Perhaps [Polyphemus](http://www.geocities.com/mothman15/Poly.htm), or [Glover’s moth](http://www.geocities.com/mothman15/glovers.htm)?
There are a [pile of](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturniidae) different [Saturniidae](http://www.google.com/search?q=Saturniidae&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a) with half moon shaped eyespots and coloration similar to your description.
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### Author:  [@criminey.jicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminey.jicket)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-butterfly-or-moth-was-this/462898/7 "2008-09-10T19:30:58Z")
Squink, thank you! I am now almost certain it was a [Columbia Silk Moth](http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=3282), family Saturniidae.
It was resting on the black tar paper covering the outside wall in preparation for new siding. I think the black background toned down the pinkishness to a mauve-grey. The Glover’s is really close, but it has more red/reddish-brown tones.
I can hardly wait until next year!
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-butterfly-or-moth-was-this/462898/8 "2008-09-11T00:14:44Z")
When I was a kid, I brought home what turned out to be a Cecropia moth egg case. I did enough research to find out they needed maple leaves, and my grandmother (with whom I was living at the time) had about a dozen maple trees in her yard. Big netting cage later, almost all of them successfully became adult moths. Amazing experience.
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### Author:  [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-butterfly-or-moth-was-this/462898/9 "2008-09-11T03:15:05Z")
> [@criminey.jicket](#):
>
> In July, a very large butterfly (moth?)…
>
> It had fern-like antennae.
Fern-like antennae = definitely a moth.