Hologram moth
The hologram moth is a big grey-brown moth with shiny metallic green patches on its front wings. The green shimmers like a sticker that changes in the light. It flies at night in North American forests.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
It is the biggest member of its moth group in North America. Each front wing is about 2 to 2.5 centimetres long.
A female lays between 200 and 300 eggs in her life.
Caterpillars in its group walk by making a loop with their body, like inchworms.
It has tiny ears on its body that let it hear sounds.
Grown-ups fly from May to September, and July is the best month to see them.
Most asked questions about Hologram moth
?Is the hologram moth dangerous?
No. It is a moth and cannot bite or sting.
?Why is it called the hologram moth?
Because of the shiny metallic green patches on its front wings, which shimmer in the light.
?When can you see the hologram moth?
From May to September, most of all in July. It flies at night.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Diachrysia balluca
- Named by
- Geyer, 1832
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Noctuidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Green-patched looper
Where the facts come from
- Diachrysia balluca (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Trevor Edmonson. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Atlas moth
Luna moth
Hummingbird hawk-moth
Domestic silk moth
Isabella tiger moth
Polyphemus moth
Cousinly bumble bee
Ocellate gall midge
Hornet beetle
Gray-foot lancetooth snail
Four-spotted nephus
Golden-tailed bull ant