A Metro Vancouver man got quite the fright last week when he saw a mystery creature ramming itself against the screen of his open window.
Like most people do these days, Yujin Chang reached for his phone to document the massive winged beast trying to break into his Richmond home.
“It definitely scared me,” he tells V.I.A. “It was banging against my window for a couple minutes before it flew off.”
“The funny thing was I had [another] moth at my window too and it was perfect for reference since the level of aggression between the two was so different,” he recalls. “I think it was mainly just attracted to the light in my room, and since it was so much bigger than a moth it was a lot more of a nuisance when it was slamming against my window.”
Chang posted the video to social media asking people if they recognized the big bug.
According to Dr. Judith Meyers of the Zoology Department and UBC, the video isn't clear enough to definitely identify the species of moth but she thinks it could be either a Sphinx or polyphemus moth, both of which are native to B.C.
"We don't see these big moths very often, but they're not totally uncommon either," she says over Zoom. "They always attract attention when people see them."
What type of moth is it?
Based on the body shape and wings of the moth in the video, it is most likely a Poplar Sphinx moth which Myers says feeds on poplar trees, cottonwoods, and other common trees so they have plenty of habitat in B.C.
They get their name from the larvae stage. The larva have little pointed tails almost like thorns and when they feel threatened they rear up and pull their heads in giving them the resemblance of an Egyptian Sphinx.
They are also sometimes referred to as Hummingbird moths because of the way they hover.
One of the things Myers finds most interesting about members of the Sphinx moth group is their ability to hear sounds.
"For example, one of their predators is bats, which are flying in the late evening," she says "And these Sphinx moths are able to pick up on the ultrasonic sounds that the bats make and they just dive back down to the ground so they're out of the range of the predators."
The other family of large moths is the Saturniidae and the member that occurs in B.C. is a Polyphemus moth. They are less pointy in shape but their wingspan can be as large as a human hand.
"People are always amazed when they see these things," says Myers, adding that there is also a tarantula moth, so named because it's so large and hairy that it looks like a tarantula. "No relationship whatsoever," she assures.
Pets vs. pests
Both species of moth are totally harmless and not considered pets according to Myers.
"It all has to do with what the [population] density is and what they're feeding on," she says, and neither moth is causing that much damage since they have a low population density and aren't defoliating the common types of plants they feed on.
There is, however, a species of Sphinx moth, the tomato hornworm, that is considered a pest in Eastern Canada because it can decimate crop plants such as potatoes and tomatoes
People are still freaked out by moths, though, which Myers believes is due to the fact that they fly at night. She also thinks people are unnerved by the way they flutter and their desperation to get inside because they're attracted to the light.
Though moths don't have the cheery colour of butterflies to make up for the parts that seem creepy, Myers hopes people won't freak out when they encounter them. Breaking those fears can begin in childhood, she explains.
“I really appreciate people's enthusiasm for these things and I think we've got to work with kids..and try to say ‘Wow, look at that interesting insect,’” she says. “I think we need to be rational and enthusiastic about insects.”
