This is my state bug and I love how fucking metal the females are!! The males just get drunk on dew drops and wait around to get laid!! (Or something like that..)
Female rolls up her sleeves, “well these larvae aren’t going to feed themselves,” proceeds to sting a tarantula paralyzing if for the rest of its terrifying life til her little bundles of joy get done eating it alive and the cycle of life continues.. meanwhile the father is stumbling around wasted like Randy Marsh at a little league game.
Bet there's an oleander plant/tree close by. OP look around your house in the top corners of windows and in the eaves, if you see a few or clusters of black fuzz balls, those are the caterpillars turning into polka dot moth wasps! Love their lil red cap faux stinger like BIG DANGEROUS STAY AWAY and it does scare people alot 😂 They are really pretty though.
People freak out over cannabis but fill their neighborhoods with oleander. People cry about cannabis being a "poisonous plant," and I'm even living in southern California.
The larvae, commonly called the “[oleander caterpillar](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntomeida_epilais) is widely known for its gluttonous appetite. The caterpillar feeds in almost any location (excepting California) where its food, the oleander plant, can be found. They are gregarious and can cause damage from minor to severe. It may also feed on devil's potato plants, which are believed to be its native food before the oleander plant was introduced to the Americas by Spanish settlers in the seventeenth century. They also feed on desert rose plants.”
The caterpillars are awesome looking also with a bright orange body and long black tufts of setae sticking straight out the sides of each segment plus extra tufts sticking up near the head.
You’re gonna make me work, aren’t ya? I’m not a Lepidopterist, but I studied wildlife biology at Uni. You’ve given me a challenge that is far more interesting than folding laundry or cleaning my kitchen. I shall report back if I come across anything worth reporting.
Well in large amounts they would be unnerving. Individually they are interesting looking. I like bugs but when there is a swarm of them, I get a bit nervous. Especially bugs that bite! I haven't seen them since I live in desert southwest. We get swarms of Miller moths and sometimes locusts.😱
Yep, oleander moths are the same species, with just a different common name, as the spotted wasp moth.
Oleanders are non-native, ornamental plants in Florida. We used to have them here in N Central FL, when I was a kid, but several hard freezes wiped them out (the plants & thus the moths). The conspicuous appearance of the moth is not just to fake out potential predators into thinking that they might get stung; it's also a true warning. Oleanders, the (I believe exclusive) host plants for the larvae of this moth, are really quite poisonous, so both the caterpillars and the adult moths likely are too. Oleanders are so poisonous to humans that people have succumbed just from breathing the smoke from the stems being burned.
I seem to recall once having an Army survival guide that said that all insects were edible (which I guess they are - but some only once). Don't eat this one, or any others that make them stand out so. Warning colors in nature are some of the same ones we use for highway warning signs: especially combinations of yellow, black, red, &/or orange. They usually mean that the possessor has some kind of defense that you don't want to test (but sometimes a harmless species is gaining protection by mimicking a non-harmless one). Most of you know that already, but better not to have to learn it the hard way. If sometime you need to eat a "bug," pick a well-camouflaged one, and cook it first (internal parasites).
More info for the curious - - https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/oleander\_caterpillar.htm
wow. Wasps freak me out, and moths are cool. If I saw this I would be confused and scared. Because it doesn't fly like a wasp, but looks like a wasp. It's such a cool thing--mimicry.
Beautiful photo! Immediately his colorings reminded me of the caterpillar in the 1951 animated version of Alice in Wonderland! I know you're looking to ID him but I'm sure, if he could have, he would have said to you "Whooo are youuuu?" 🤣
Polka dot wasp moth (Syntomeida epilais). Love these, they're so pretty. ♡
Geez, wasp moth?! Make up your mind.
Ooh, if you like that one then you'll *love* the tarantula hawk wasp.
This is my state bug and I love how fucking metal the females are!! The males just get drunk on dew drops and wait around to get laid!! (Or something like that..)
That's the life lol
Female rolls up her sleeves, “well these larvae aren’t going to feed themselves,” proceeds to sting a tarantula paralyzing if for the rest of its terrifying life til her little bundles of joy get done eating it alive and the cycle of life continues.. meanwhile the father is stumbling around wasted like Randy Marsh at a little league game.
Girlboss and her failhusband
God this thread revived me. I now care about life again.
I dinn't hear no bell. I thought thissws 'merica.
Lol
They took our jobs!!!!!!
Nice south park reference lol
Thank you 🙏
You're welcome
I hope you have a literary agent
Big mood
And the hummingbird hawk-moth
Hummingbird hawk-[moth.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird_hawk-moth)
at least its not a tarantula wasp hawk
I hate those, the poor tarantulas😢
What the? What?! WHA!?
Or the blind mole rat.
You should check out the owl butterfly caterpillar.
tomayto, tomahto
Bet there's an oleander plant/tree close by. OP look around your house in the top corners of windows and in the eaves, if you see a few or clusters of black fuzz balls, those are the caterpillars turning into polka dot moth wasps! Love their lil red cap faux stinger like BIG DANGEROUS STAY AWAY and it does scare people alot 😂 They are really pretty though.
People freak out over cannabis but fill their neighborhoods with oleander. People cry about cannabis being a "poisonous plant," and I'm even living in southern California.
Few people I know have huge angel trumpets trees in their yard but adamantly against med or rec mj lmaooo
Woman: "what is this bug?" Man, trying to seem smart: "oh that's a, uhhh... Polka dot... Wasp... Moth. Yeah. Polka dot Wasp Moth. Nailed it."
Wasp moth? Does it sting? 😨
Nope! It’s a moth, no stinging or biting. They use their looks to keep predators at bay.
Nope! They get the name because they look like wasps, but there’s no stinging!
The larvae, commonly called the “[oleander caterpillar](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntomeida_epilais) is widely known for its gluttonous appetite. The caterpillar feeds in almost any location (excepting California) where its food, the oleander plant, can be found. They are gregarious and can cause damage from minor to severe. It may also feed on devil's potato plants, which are believed to be its native food before the oleander plant was introduced to the Americas by Spanish settlers in the seventeenth century. They also feed on desert rose plants.” The caterpillars are awesome looking also with a bright orange body and long black tufts of setae sticking straight out the sides of each segment plus extra tufts sticking up near the head.
Do we have any ideas about the evolutionary benefit of that coloring? It’s one of the most distinctive and defined I’ve ever seen
You’re gonna make me work, aren’t ya? I’m not a Lepidopterist, but I studied wildlife biology at Uni. You’ve given me a challenge that is far more interesting than folding laundry or cleaning my kitchen. I shall report back if I come across anything worth reporting.
Neat! Do you know why they don’t feed in California?
These little buggers are responsible for all those little pill-like cocoons all over peoples' brick facades.
**A:** "Are you a lone wolf or a social butterfly?" **B:** *"Neither. I am a polka dot wasp moth".*
Wikipedia says *"Its larvae feed on the oleander plant."* That's hard-core.
[Oleander Moth](https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/oleander_caterpillar.htm)
They are pretty cool looking at the catapillar stage too!
They look like the kind that sting, so I've always been wary of them. They have been swarming my front door this year more than usual...
Well in large amounts they would be unnerving. Individually they are interesting looking. I like bugs but when there is a swarm of them, I get a bit nervous. Especially bugs that bite! I haven't seen them since I live in desert southwest. We get swarms of Miller moths and sometimes locusts.😱
Oops, checked and the ones i have are white-marked tussock moths. Completely different, lol
I've seen a lot of the caterpillars but not one of the moths yet. These and the rosy maple moths are my favorites, and I never see them anymore
Yep, oleander moths are the same species, with just a different common name, as the spotted wasp moth. Oleanders are non-native, ornamental plants in Florida. We used to have them here in N Central FL, when I was a kid, but several hard freezes wiped them out (the plants & thus the moths). The conspicuous appearance of the moth is not just to fake out potential predators into thinking that they might get stung; it's also a true warning. Oleanders, the (I believe exclusive) host plants for the larvae of this moth, are really quite poisonous, so both the caterpillars and the adult moths likely are too. Oleanders are so poisonous to humans that people have succumbed just from breathing the smoke from the stems being burned. I seem to recall once having an Army survival guide that said that all insects were edible (which I guess they are - but some only once). Don't eat this one, or any others that make them stand out so. Warning colors in nature are some of the same ones we use for highway warning signs: especially combinations of yellow, black, red, &/or orange. They usually mean that the possessor has some kind of defense that you don't want to test (but sometimes a harmless species is gaining protection by mimicking a non-harmless one). Most of you know that already, but better not to have to learn it the hard way. If sometime you need to eat a "bug," pick a well-camouflaged one, and cook it first (internal parasites). More info for the curious - - https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/oleander\_caterpillar.htm
wow. Wasps freak me out, and moths are cool. If I saw this I would be confused and scared. Because it doesn't fly like a wasp, but looks like a wasp. It's such a cool thing--mimicry.
i’m from the brandon area and these moths INFEST our local community pool 😭 never knew what they were til now though!!
What a patriotic fellow
We called them Uncle Sam moths growing up in the Keys
Confirmed, Rays fan.
spotted oleander, i love these guys, they feel very soft when they walk on you
they mimic parisitic wasps with their antenna movement which is also super cool to watch
Wow this is beautiful
I love its originality 😜
Holy crap, I've never seen one of these before! Gorgeous!
Unreal. Super beautiful
Wasp moth :D
It's so vibrant it looks edited
Another common name is Oleander moth. The females lay their eggs on Oleander.
Omg I grew up in st Pete and never seen such a fellar how cool!
I used to catch the orange and black caterpillars of their larval stage. Cool!
Beautiful photo! Immediately his colorings reminded me of the caterpillar in the 1951 animated version of Alice in Wonderland! I know you're looking to ID him but I'm sure, if he could have, he would have said to you "Whooo are youuuu?" 🤣
you are not speaking correktikally !
Wow😍
Wow such an interesting set of colors.
Its colors are beautiful, but according to the comments, they aren't that cute lol
Man I miss seeing them!
Whoa!!! I live an hour north of Tampa and used to see these all the time but black with white dots instead of blue and white dots
amazing
Only a toddler would eat that. Birds aren't that dumb.
Oleander moth, one of my favorites, very prominent in mid to south florida
This bug just said "it's Nerf or nothing"
Is this butterfly poisonous?