Black Witch Moth (Ascalapha odorata) Erebus odora
Title: As nature shows them; moths and butterflies of the United States, east of the Rocky mountains. With over 400 photographic illustrations in the text and many transfers of species from life
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Sherman F. Denton (Sherman Foote Denton)
Subjects: Lepidoptera -- United States Nature prints
Publisher: Boston B. Whidden
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:As_nature_shows_them;_moths_and_butterflies_of_the_United_States,_east_of_the_Rocky_mountains._With_over_400_photographic_illustrations_in_the_text_and_many_transfers_of_species_from_life_(1900)_(14758133056).jpg
The erebid moth Ascalapha odorata, commonly known as the black witch moth, is a large bat-shaped, dark-colored nocturnal moth, ranging from Brazil to the southern United States. It is the largest noctuid in the continental United States. In the folklore of many Central American cultures, it is associated with death or misfortune.
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Genus: Ascalapha
Species: Ascalapha odorata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
- Erebus odora
- Otosema odora
- Phalaena Bombyx odorata Linnaeus, 1758
- Phalaena Bombyx odora Linnaeus, 1764
- Erebus agarista Cramer, 1779
- Erebus marquesi Paulsen in Philippi, 1871