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Ascalapha odorata
"Mariposa de la muerte" (butterfly of death)
The Black Witch has a fascinating cultural as well as natural history. Known in Mexico by the Indians since Aztec times as mariposa de la muerte (butterfly of death). When there is sickness in a house and this moth enters, the sick person dies. (Hoffmann 1918) A variation on this theme heard in the lower Rio Grande Valley (Southmost Texas) is that death only occurs if the moth flies in and visits all four corners of one's house.(from http://www.texasento.net/witch.htm)
Spotted on Jan 6, 2011
Submitted on Jun 1, 2011
3 Comments
The male.
ID found !
Definitely a moth (butterflies have clubbed antennae) , possibly in the geometrid family.