Black Witch Moth

Description:

Large moth with a mottled blue-black-lavender pattern and a narrow white band near the trailing edge of wings, wingspan ~ 5 inches.

Habitat:

Suburban area on a mesic, tropical, insular lowland plateau.

Notes:

Spotted fluttering along the ground outside of my garage. It seemed to be having difficulty flying, so I suspect it was in the process of dying, though it did manage at one point to fly about ten feet before landing again. This species is normally quite skittish--I can't get close before they fly off. Any movement seems to make them fly away. That was not the case in this encounter, which is why I suspect the moth was unwell.