Comments on: Large Black Moth – Ctenucha virginica

By: Ed Hayden

Ed Hayden — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:45:12 +0000

Saw a dozen of these Virginia Ctenucha flitting about a meadow by the seashore in Bellevue, Newfoundland, today. Simply stunning. Thanks for the very helpful information you’ve posted.
Ed Hayden

By: Heleane Battaglia

Heleane Battaglia — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 18:26:33 +0000

I have them in my storage shed that is attached to my patio of my condo. There were 2 of them today and one flew into the condo. They look creepy. I sure don’t want them sitting on all my things stored in the shed. Larger pots and pans, baking items etc.

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 09:33:15 +0000

They are completely harmless (moths don’t have stingers, and they don’t bite), although I agree that these jet-black things can look a bit sinister. They’re only going to be around for a couple of weeks before they die off, so there’s no real need to do anything about them. The larvae eat grass, so they aren’t likely to damage any of your garden or ornamental plants, either.

The way these things usually go, the large numbers this year will cause a big increase in the number of their predators and parasitoids. This means that next year, there will be so many things eating the caterpillars that they are likely to be almost wiped out, even without you doing anything.

By: Lee

Lee — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:22:56 +0000

We have what seems like hundreds of these around our yard. They are plastered all over our bushes, and flying everywhere, landing on the windows, day and night. Never noticed them before this year. I don’t like them, they seem to chase me when I’m outside. I’m very imtimitated by them, does anyone know if their harmless? Do they sting? Can I use a spray to kill them?

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:41:07 +0000

Thanks for the added observations! We actually have quite a number of them this year too – I’ve seen about a dozen of them so far in the last week. It must be a good year for them.

By: Carol Liller

Carol Liller — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:12:41 +0000

Hi!! I have about forty of these circling my backyard, making me very nervous. I was able to look at one close up (the yellow-collared scape moth) which did nothing make me feel better :=) However, I decided that if they were pretty orange coloured butterflies, I’d think nothing of having them flit from my bushes to my trees and decided to just enjoy them. I’d never notised them before, but this is the first year I have put bird feeders in my orange tree and I have a fine crop of dracena, or corn plants, growing as well as other grasses and flowers-so your theory about what ‘grasses’ they are attracted to is right. The birds leave them alone, probably because they do resemble wasps. They also stick around all day and cluster between the rubber tree, a large ‘Snow on the Mountain’ and the orange tree. Thanks for your page-I’ve found it invaluable when looking for the flying and crawling beasties in my little world.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:38:29 +0000

I found out when poking around that “virginica” is a tip of the hat to Queen Elizabeth I – the Virgin Queen. Just thought I’d share that random tidbit with you!