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Ascalapha odorata
black witch, black witch moth, mariposa de la muerte, duppy bat, mariposa-bruxa, ura, money moth, money bat
The black witch moth (Ascalapha odorata) is a large, bat-shaped nocturnal moth and the largest noctuoid in the continental United States. Females reach wingspans up to 24 cm, while males are smaller at approximately 12 cm. The species ranges from the southern United States through Mexico and Central America to Brazil and Argentina, with migratory populations reaching as far north as Canada. It holds prominent cultural significance across Latin America and the Caribbean, where it is widely associated with death, misfortune, and spiritual beliefs.
nocturnal migratory folklore pest caterpillar large-moth legume-feeder fruit-feeder cultural-significance death-omen Caribbean Latin-America Hawaii-introduced moth Lepidoptera Erebidae Ascalapha Ascalapha-odorata black-witch black-witch-moth mariposa-de-la-muerte duppy-bat mariposa-bruxa ura money-moth money-bat Phalaena-odorata Linnaeus-1758 largest-noctuoid continental-US bat-shaped iridescent white-bar green-spot orange-spot comma-spot nine-spot 24-cm-wingspan 12-cm-wingspan 7-cm-caterpillar Acacia Gymnocladus-dioicus Kentucky-coffeetree Senna-alata candle-bush mesquite Ficus banana overripe-fruit rainforest agricultural-pest Mexico Central-America South-America Brazil Argentina United-States Canada Hawaii migration spring summer death misfortune spiritual soul harbinger lottery money hair-loss duppy ghost screwworm Dermatobia-hominis misidentification Silence-of-the-Lambs Buffalo-Bill Kendrick-Lamar To-Pimp-a-Butterfly Thysania-agrippina white-witch Thysania-zenobia owl-moth noctuid Erebinae hexapod arthropod insect animal eukaryote metazoa animalia arthropoda insecta noctuoidea species accepted exact-match 32867-observations iNaturalist GBIF Catalogue-of-Life NCBI Wikipedia entomology guide structured record taxon conservative accurate informative factual clarity usefulness no-speculation no-inference no-fabrication no-repetition unique-content cautious-language direct-sentences concrete-statements high-completeness medium-completeness low-completeness no-inferred-content null-for-unsupported field-intent style-rules quality-rules JSON-schema output-format no-commentary no-extra-fields no-fluff no-filler no-taxonomy-repetition no-technical-jargon no-vague-generalizations no-'like-most-insects'no-'typically-feeds-on-plants'has-been-observed is-known-to supported justified explicitly-justified species-level-traits higher-taxa physical-description-only how-to-distinguish environment-conditions geographic-range-only timing-of-activity feeding-habits developmental-stages notable-actions ecosystem-role interaction-with-humans reason-for-similarity meaningful-misconceptions important-additional-context clear direct concise useful reliable sparse-data well-supported partial most-fields
Mosillus tibialis
shore fly
Mosillus tibialis is a species of shore fly in the family Ephydridae, first described by Cresson in 1916. The species is distributed across North America, including Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the Bahamas, with introduced populations in the Hawaiian Islands. Shore flies in this family are typically associated with aquatic or semi-aquatic habitats. The specific epithet "tibialis" refers to a characteristic of the tibiae (leg segments), though the precise diagnostic feature is not detailed in available sources.
shore-fly Ephydridae Diptera aquatic-insect North-America Hawaii-introduced
Synanthedon bibionipennis
Strawberry Crown Moth
Synanthedon bibionipennis is a clearwing moth in the family Sesiidae, commonly known as the strawberry crown moth. Adults are active from April to August and are diurnal. The species has one generation per year. Larvae are borers that feed internally on the crowns and roots of various rosaceous plants.
pest borer diurnal clearwing-moth rosaceae-specialist western-north-america hawaii-introduced