KUSA - If you think you have problems with miller moths, imagine tangling with the atlas moth.
The atlas moth is the world's largest moth, and Coloradans can actually watch them in flight at the Butterfly Pavilion. They are from the silk-moth family and are native to the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia.
They're most interesting characteristic, besides their size, is that their wing tips mimic the head of snake to fool predators. If a predator does attack and hits only the wings, the moth can still fly with up to 30 percent of its wings missing.
Also unusual is that they are born with no mouth parts. After emerging as moths, they never eat again. Their only purpose is to reproduce. They live for four or five days, lay thousands of eggs, and then die.
A far more common moth that is actually currently emerging in Colorado is the sphinx or hawk Moth. Viewers have been sending pictures of these moths to 9NEWS wondering what they are because they are so much larger than the miller moths that are so numerous. The sphinx moth is a big fan of gardens and most especially tomatoes or any vines that may be growing.
They only live in two weeks cycles but are constantly reproducing, and they'll be around all summer. In the fall, the last cycle will lay eggs and then those eggs will over-winter until next year.
The miller moths that are everywhere along the Front Range are a very important source of calories for bears. A bear will consume as many as 10,000 of the moths in a day, finding them hiding under rocks and in other shady places away from the sun.
(KUSA-TV © 2014 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
