Stats

Lifespan: A few weeks
Size: Huge
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: Latin America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

The Black Witch is one of the largest moths in North America, with a wingspan reaching 15 cm and a dark, bat-like silhouette edged with iridescent purple. In Mexico it is called 'mariposa de la muerte' and considered a harbinger of death, yet in Hawaii the same moth is a lucky 'money moth' said to bring wealth to whoever finds one.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2.
caterpillar
A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3.
cocoon
A silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4.
moth
A winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Erebidae
Genus: Ascalapha
Species: Ascalapha odorata