Florida is home to over 11,000 species of moths due to its subtropical climate During the warmer months, it’s common to see moths fluttering around outdoor lights or resting on trees and flowers. While less showy than butterflies, moths exhibit incredible diversity in colors, sizes and behaviors
This article will highlight some of the most frequently encountered moths across Florida. Keep reading to learn how to identify 51 common moth species spotted in backyards gardens, and natural areas.
Giant Silkworm Moths
The giant silkworm moths belong to the family Saturniidae They are some of the largest and most beautiful moths found in the United States.
Polyphemus Moth – This tan moth has large eyespots on its hindwings and a wingspan reaching 5.5 inches. The caterpillar is green with yellow lines and known for eating 86,000 times its weight before pupating.
Io Moth – Adults have predominant eyespots on hindwings. Caterpillars have painful stingers. Wingspan is 3-6 inches.
Imperial Moth – Yellow moth that mimics rotting leaves. Larvae have orange bodies with black bands and large spines. Wingspan is 3-7 inches.
Royal Walnut Moth – Furry yellow moth with wingspan reaching 7 inches. Larvae feed on various trees and shrubs.
Sphinx Moths
These swift, powerful fliers are also called hawk moths. They have narrow wings for speed and hover at flowers like hummingbirds.
Carolina Sphinx – Small gray moth marked with pink, white and black. Larvae called tobacco hornworms.
Virginia Creeper Sphinx – Brown forewings, orange hindwings. Larvae feed on grape vines.
Gaudy Sphinx – Lime-green and pink, wingspan up to 5 inches. Larvae eat Salicaceae plants like willow.
Pluto Sphinx– Large moth with 4 inch wingspan. Host plants include frangipani and snowberry.
Ello Sphinx – Dark brown wings with zigzag patterns. Caterpillars eat grape vines.
Geometrid Moths
Known as inchworms, the larvae only have two legs at each end and loop their bodies to move. Adults rest with wings spread flat.
Southern Emerald – Bright green with feathery fringe on hindwings. Larvae called inchworms.
Abbot’s Bagworm Moth – Male has orange wings with black spots. Females are wingless. Casemaking larvae.
Dot-lined White – White wings and body marked with distinct black dots. Larvae feed on cherry, oak, roses.
Io Moth– Wingspan 2.5-2.75 inches. Larvae feed on broadleaf trees and shrubs.
Prominent Moths
This group has fuzzy caterpillars with humps or spines on each segment. Many species mimic twigs or bark.
White-marked Tussock Moth – Yellow and black caterpillar with red head and hair pencils. Female moth is wingless.
Southern Flannel Moth – Caterpillar looks like fuzzy Persian cat. Adults dull orange and hairy.
Heterocampa Astarte – Twig-like larva has humps on its back. Male moth gray with wavy lines on wings.
Consular Oakworm – Caterpillar green with black bumps. Male forewings tan, hindwings orange.
Tiger Moths
Known for their bright colors and patterns to warn predators of toxicity or bad taste. Active during the day.
Virginia Tiger Moth – Woolly orange-and-black caterpillar. White adult with black spots and orange legs.
Rattlebox Moth – Day-flying moth with yellow and black banded wings. Mimics wasp or hornet. Larvae eat rattlebox plants.
Oleander Moth – Metallic blue with white dots. Day-flying. Caterpillars feed exclusively on oleander.
Harnessed Tiger Moth – Woolly black and white caterpillar. Adult has black and orange wings.
Owlet Moths
These nocturnal moths make up the family Noctuidae, one of the most diverse groups. Many are agricultural pests.
Armyworm – Dingy brown moth up to 1.6 inches long. Larvae are “army worms” that eat crops in groups.
Velvet Armyworm – Buff-colored wings with white dot on forewings. Pest of cereal grains, turfgrass, soybean.
Black Witch – Wingspan up to 6 inches. Nocturnal brown moth with traces of purple and pink. Larvae feed on cassia trees.
Bronzy Macrochilo – Metallic chestnut color. Small noctuid moth seen in fields.
Others:
Ailanthus Webworm – Active during the day. Pale yellow with dark bands on wings. Feeds strictly on Ailanthus altissima trees.
Avocado Spanworm – Small gray moth (wingspan 1.25 inches) that only eats avocado leaves.
Orange-spotted Flower Moth– Red body with transparent orange wings dotted with black. Flies at night.
Citrus Fruit-piercer– Green inchworm larvae pierce ripe citrus fruits. Moth has white wings with green spots at tips.
Streaked Sphinx– Large, yellow-gray hawk moth active at dawn and dusk. Caterpillars feed on Brazilian peppertree.
Modest Sphinx– Fat, bee-like abdomen. Wingspan up to 5 inches. Feeds on nectar from petunias and honeysuckle.
There are still thousands more moth species found across Florida that come in a rainbow of colors and fill diverse ecological niches. With patience, close observation and photography, even casual nature enthusiasts can begin identifying many of these fascinating insects frequenting backyards and neighborhoods.
Attracting and Observing Moths
Moths are generally nocturnal, although some species fly during the day, and are referred to as “day fliers.” Here, we largely focus on nocturnal moths. At northern latitudes, moths are most active during the summer months and on warm nights (Jonason, Franzén, and Ranius 2014), whereas in Florida and other regions of the United States, such as lower elevations of the Southwest, the peak season can be from approximately February to May, with an additional peak of activity in the fall months. Keep in mind, however, that different moths have different flight periods, so to maximize the diversity of moths you see, it is best to go mothing throughout the year. See Figure 3 to learn good strategies for finding and observing moths. There are two main methods for attracting a wide array of moths, each of which will attract different species. The first involves artificial lights, and the second involves homemade sugar baits.
Moths and many other flying insects are attracted to light. The easiest way to begin observing moths is to check lights after dark. Even leaving your porch light on for a few hours after the sun sets and checking every hour or so for new visitors can be rewarding and produce a multitude of species.
For better results, try a black light. Black lights are special bulbs that emit ultraviolet light, specifically in the UVA range (wavelengths between 315 and 400 nanometers, or nm) (Wang et al. 2019). One way to use a black light is to hang a white sheet over a clothesline or between trees and strategically illuminate it with a light source. There are many affordable and portable black lights available online, usually in LED format. These are often advertised as DJ equipment or party supplies, or sometimes pet-stain detectors. For portability, lights that have USB cords are particularly useful because they can be plugged into the same USB battery packs that are used to recharge smartphones. Check your USB battery pack’s milliamp hours (mAh) to better understand its capacity. A typical 10,000 mAh battery pack, for example, can power a 10-watt UV LED black light for about three hours. The light can be aimed at the sheet from one or two feet away on a tripod or stand (like a guitar stand), hung from another clothesline or rope between trees, hung on the sheet itself, or even propped up at an angle from the ground to direct the light out into the night. Multiple lights at different angles can be advantageous as well. The light will attract moths, drawing them to the sheet where you can most easily observe and photograph them. For the most favorable outcome, select a night with minimal moonlight and find a dark location that will allow your lights to shine their brightest without competing with other sources of lighting like streetlamps. Experiment with regular bulbs, black lights, or the more powerful mercury vapor lights. Different lights attract a greater variety of moth species. Also bear in mind that some moth species may be more attracted to specific habitats or plant species. Vary placement of the black light to increase the chance that you attract a variety of moths. Often, orienting your light/sheet towards a large open space, such as a prairie or meadow, especially one at the edge of another habitat, such as a forest or cypress swamp, yields the largest diversity of moths.
In addition to sheets, moth “traps” can be used to attract moths. There are different types of traps (butterfly-conservation.org has a handy pdf here with examples), but they are all designed specifically to attract moths and temporarily “catch” them overnight. It is best to set up the moth trap at dusk and then check it in the morning. Use empty cardboard egg cartons or something similarly textured. Moths have trouble perching on slick surfaces; they will be more likely to remain in your trap until the morning for you to see them if you provide them a comfortable place to rest. After you’ve had a chance to enjoy your moth visitors, dismantle your moth-attracting apparatus and let the moths return to their normal activities. Whether you choose to use a sheet or moth trap, the most important thing to remember is to release the moths when you’re finished documenting your observations.
Not all moth species are attracted to lights. To entice species that rarely visit lights, you can try a technique known as “sugaring” using a homemade bait. Numerous bait recipes you can find online offer various options. A common mixture includes overripe bananas, brown sugar, molasses, and a touch of beer. Blend these ingredients into a spreadable consistency that is neither too thin (prone to runoff) or too thick to spread. While allowing the concoction to ferment for a few days can enhance its allure, it is not obligatory. Apply the bait generously onto a tree trunk, positioning it at eye level. Aim for a reasonably large patch, typically around one square foot, although exact dimensions are not important—moths don’t care! Return every half hour to an hour to observe and photograph any moths indulging in your sugary feast. Note that some moths will sometimes only visit briefly, and thus checking on the bait more often may yield more glimpses of a greater variety of species. In a pinch, an overripe banana can also simply be opened and placed on a flat surface. After opening the banana, place the peels with the inside facing up in 2–4 different locations. See figure 3 for an example of a banana peel being visited by a moth.
Using iNaturalist to Document and Identify Moths
iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/) is a citizen science platform that combines the wonders of nature with the collective efforts of a global community. iNaturalist is an independent multitaxa platform, allowing participants to contribute observations of any organism, or traces thereof, along with information about where and when that observation took place. The program is free to use and can be accessed via a user-friendly website and mobile app. The key to iNaturalist’s success lies in the precision and thoroughness of the contributed observations. Achieving an accurate identification for an observation can be a challenge, but each user can use their own experience and knowledge to type in their own identification. When posting an organism unknown to the user, the auto-ID suggestion, which provides a list of species that match the supplied photograph and location, can be a handy way to get the ball rolling in the quest to identify the observation. This suggestion is provided by a computer vision algorithm that is constantly improving, aided by the iNaturalist community of identifiers that correct and confirm identifications (the iNaturalist blog has more information in their blog post “Vision Model Updates“). By supplying accurate information about species and locations, the contributions become valuable data points that aid researchers, conservationists, and policymakers in understanding and safeguarding the natural world. For these reasons, iNaturalist offers an excellent tool to help you jump fully into the world of moths and mothing. For more information on iNaturalist, see https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/about, and see https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/getting+started for further details on how to get started. Some curated resources are available on Joe MDOs profile page. Your local UF/IFAS Extension office is a reliable resource for research-based information that can help you identify species. A directory of UF/IFAS Extension offices is available at https://directory.ifas.ufl.edu/.
As of 2023, of the approximately 160,000 species of moths in the world, 48,110 have been submitted to iNaturalist. In the United States, 9,389 moth species have been submitted to iNaturalist with the most commonly reported moths being white-lined sphinx, Isabella tiger moth, Polyphemus moth, North American luna moth, ailanthus webworm moth, salt marsh moth, fall webworm moth, giant leopard moth, green cloverworm moth, and eastern tent caterpillar moth (Figure 2). In Florida, 1,960 moth species have been submitted to iNaturalist with the most commonly reported moths being fir tussock moth, Io moth, Polyphemus moth, polka-dot wasp moth, southern pink-striped oakworm moth, tersa sphinx, ornate bella moth, salt marsh moth, giant leopard moth, and orange-spotted flower moth (Figure 2).
Florida’s Beautiful Moths and Gardening
FAQ
When should I worry about moths in my house?
Other signs to look out for include: The presence of adult moth. If you see small moth on walls or in corners and around the skirting of your home then it is worth having a closer look for damage to the carpets under fixed furniture, and clothes stored in cupboards and wardrobes.
What does it mean when you have a lot of moths in your yard?
If you go into the lawn in the evening and see moths flying just above the grass, that’s another good indication that you have (or will have) webworms munching on your lawn. Moths release their eggs onto the grass in the early evening or late afternoon as they flit about.
Why do I have tiny moths in my house all of a sudden?
The most common way to contract a moth infestation is by carrying infected items into the home. Food and clothing items that have larvae or eggs hiding within them can introduce a moth problem when you least expect it. Unsealed containers in our pantries are perfect targets for pantry months.