Large Necklace Moth

Description:

-EDIT, this is an old spotting that has been identified and revisited- -Original spottings 2015, new info 2018- Wow. Talk about a flashback. This was one of the first spottings I ever did, and I had no clue what it was. This is a large necklace moth, or was. Its probably dead now. It had flown into my house and keep landing on my hands so I just keep it around. I noticed it had a messed up right wing and named it Lefty. I eventually released him after keeping him for most of the night. The reason I had so much trouble identifying it was because my friend said it was a Pyralid Moth, but they're not, they're Erebids. I happened to stumble across a photo of one in a field guide to the moths and butterflies of Kansas, I immediately recognized my Lefty. Those eight white dots are pretty handy, even if you Google "orange moth with eight white dots" and nothing comes up. It's kind of interesting to look back on how inexperienced I used to be when it came to nature, and how its now one of my true passions.

Habitat:

Texas up to Kansas in the west and Florida to Maryland in the East.