Deathly Friend of the Night

Ascalapha odorata, the largest noctuid, the scientific name comes from the demon known in Spanish as Ascálafo, son of Hades river, Aqueronte.

This innocent moth was pretty hungry. It has been "captive" in my room for almost a week now.

I usually catch butterflies and moths of interest and put them on a jar and into the freezer but my refri doesn't have one (cuz it's one of those little refrigerators) and she will not die with the temperature it has. I believe it's a she because of the white marking on her wings (male doesn't have it), and because male are bigger than females (sexual dimorphism).

The larvae of this moth can grow up to 7cm, has a brownish color and it's considered an agricultural pest. I found it near a light on my brother's apartment which is next to a farm.

1rst pic:[link]

Check more pics of this and other insects in my gallery


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From Wikipedia: Folklore & mythology:

Ascalapha Odorata, the Butterfly of the death (which is actually a moth) also known as Black Witch is a death bringer in Mexican and Caribbean Folklore. In Jamaica and the Caribbean, the moth is known as the "Duppy Bat" or "Money moth". Other names for the moth include the Papillion-devil, La Sorcière Noire, or the Mourning or Sorrow moth.

In many cultures, one of these moths flying into the house is considered bad luck: e.g., in Mexico, when there is sickness in a house and this moth enters, it is believed the sick person will die, though a variation on this theme (in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas) is that death only occurs if the moth flies in and visits all four corners of one's house (in Mesoamerica, from the prehispanic era until the present time, moths have been associated with death and the number four).

In some parts of Mexico, people joke that if one flies over someone's head, the person will lose his hair.
In Jamaica, under the name duppy bat, the moth is seen as the embodiment of a lost soul or a soul not at rest. In Jamaican English, the word duppy is associated with malevolent spirits returning to inflict harm upon the living and bat refers to anything other than a bird that flies.

The word "duppy" (also: "duppie") is also used in other West Indian countries, generally meaning "ghost".
In Hawaii, Black Witch mythology, though associated with death, has a happier note in that if a loved one has just died, the moth is an embodiment of the person's soul returning to say goodbye. On Cat Island, Bahamas, where they are locally known as Money Moths or Moneybats, the legend is that if they land on you, you will come into money, and similarly, in South Texas, if a Black Witch lands above your door and stays there for a while you will supposedly win the lottery.

Pupae of the Black Witch moth were placed in the mouths of victims by serial killer 'Buffalo Bill' in the novel The Silence of the Lambs. In the movie adaptation the moth was changed to a Death's-head Hawkmoth.