Butterfly, Moth, and Skipper Photography by Kozmic Dreams

My Digital Photography of

Moths, Butterflies, Skippers and their Larvae

What's the difference between a butterfly, moth or skipper?

The following insects were photographed in the Metro-Detroit area, unless otherwise noted. I have identified them by their scientific names, if known. Photographs are sorted so that most recent photos are at the top of the page.

If you know the name of any unidentified insects, please e-mail me at kozmic3@yahoo.com. Special thanks to John Maxwell for helping me identify many insects on this page.

Click here for info about purchasing prints of these photographs.

Click on any photo to see a larger view!

Moths

Chickweed Geometer, Haematopis grataria

Here is a male chickweed geometer moth. His antennae have lots of receptors for female pheremones. This one was photographed on June 15, 2008 on my wall in the kitchen.

Click here to see the female I photographed previously.

Pandora Sphinx Moth, Eumorpha Pandorus

On October 8, 2007, I took so many photos of this moth it needed its own page.

Visit my Pandora Sphinx Moth Page to see an extensive collection of photos. Just click on the photo below.

Unknown Moth

This moth was found on my canoe trip on the Huron River on 8-29-06. It was underneath a bridge.

Ailanthus Webworm Moth, Atteva punctella

This moth was on my side door on 8-24-06. It was about 1/2 inch long.

Geometer Moth of Genus Xanthotype (possibly Xanthotype attenuaria)

While camping in Nelson, Ohio on July 29, 2006, this moth came to my lantern during the night. I was able to get it to land on my hand and stay there for several minutes while I took it's photo.

Unknown Moth

While camping in Nelson, Ohio on July 29, 2006, this moth also came to my lantern. It was less than an inch long. I love the little tufty hairs on its front legs. I've never seen such a fuzzy-legged moth before.

Tulip-tree Silkmoth, Callosamia angulifera

While camping in Nelson, Ohio on July 28, 2006, this beautiful moth came out on a rainy night. Of course, I had to try to get some photos of it. The poor thing had a large tear in one wing. The rain was beating it up too, so before photographing it, I let it dry underneath the lift gate of the car. It stayed there for a few hours while it rained. When the rain stopped, I took it out and put it on a tree trunk and photographed it. Sadly, in the morning, I found it on the ground with a yellow-jacket eating its abdomen. It was already dead.

Evergreen Bagworm Moth, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis

On August 1, 2005, Brian brought home this unusual caterpillar/cocoon that he found on a metal garbage receptacle outside his work. It was covered in pieces of cut leaves and all one could see was its head and a bit of its gray body at times. It had a few brief surges of energy and it moved around on a branch that he placed it on, then it sealed itself up. Click here to see a movie of it while it walked along a leaf. What is most interesting is that after seeing photos of other cocoons on bugguide.net, its cocoon is rather unusual because it doesn't have any evergreen needles attached to it.

On September 10, 2005, a dark-colored moth emerged and hung from the cocoon. Part of the pupa became exposed and one can see where it has split to allow the moth to be free. I thought it would have emerged from the side where its head was, but it came out the opposite end.

Chickweed Geometer, Haematopis grataria

This moth came inside when I let Darwin out in late September, 2005. It was more colorful than most of the small moths that fly around the light outside the door, so I decided it was photo-worthy. This one is a female (the antennae do not have large receptor sites like a TV antenna).

Polyphemus Moth, Antheraea polyphemus

This is one of my favorites. I took so many photographs it needed its own page.

Visit my Polyphemus Moth Page to see an extensive collection of photos and read about my personal experience with a female Polyphemus.

Just click on the photo below...

Imperial Moth, Eacles imperialis

The amazing moths below looked like diseased and dying leaves at first glance. They are called Imperial Moths. This particular mating pair was spotted in the Saugatuck Dunes on the west side of Michigan on 7-24-04.

My Hawk Moth

On August 9, 2003, I found a huge, green hornworm caterpillar walking across my driveway. I'd always wanted to find one of these. It was about 4-5 inches long---the largest caterpillar I've ever found. Unfortunately, I didn't get my digital camera until a few days later. I filled a container with a variety of leaves from everything in my yard. The next morning, it had already turned into a pupa! I thought it was rather late in the season and I was wondering when this creature was planning on emerging as a moth. I read about them in one of my wildlife encyclopedias and discovered that the pupa needed to overwinter and would emerge the following spring. I put the pupa in a smaller, covered container in some soil, put it in my refrigerator, and kept it moist throughout the winter. In early May, I took it out and kept it at room temperature. On May 21st, I came home from work and the moth had emerged! He was beautifully soft and fuzzy. However, his wings were folded under and he wasn't able to fly. I took some pictures of him on my woodburned door and let him go in the front flower bed. Amazingly, a week later, my boyfriend Brian found him on the sidewalk path to my house, almost dead.

To learn more about Michigan moths, click here.

To learn more about moths of North America, click here.

For links to photos of over 4100 moth species, click here.

Butterflies

Question Mark, Polygonia interrogationis

Photographed on a Buddleia "Purple Emperor" butterfly bush on August 25, 2006.

Red Admiral, Vanessa Atalanta

Photographed on a Buddleia "Purple Emperor" butterfly bush on August 25, 2006.

Cabbage Butterfly, Pieris rapae

This butterfly was photographed on oregano flowers in my garden on August 9, 2006. The first photo is definitely a male since it has one wing spot, not two. Males also have black wing tips (although I've found that some seem to be missing a lot of scales and are lighter in color).

Here are two more photos from Sept. 4, 2006. This one is a female---note the two spots on its wing---males only have one. Females also have gray wing tips as opposed to black.

Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio glaucus

This butterfly was photographed on the side of my house on a Buddleia "Purple Emperor" butterfly bush in 2004.

Skippers

Peck's Skipper, Polites peckius

These mating skippers were spotted on the side of my shed on July 30, 2005. Each one was only about 1/2 inch in length.

Larvae

Woolly Bear, Pyrrharctia isabella Caterpillar (turns into Isabella Tiger Moth)

This caterpillar was found on 9-17-06 under a fabric dropcloth I had left outside in the driveway the previous night. It was photographed on a hasta leaf and summer poinsettia flowers. I found it quite fascinating to see the hind feet magnified to such an extent. I had no idea that each foot had 15-20 smaller hooks.