name that moth!

[Colin Vestrand]

well i'm not really up on my moths, but this one's pretty cool! its body was a deep cobalt blue. anyone know what it is?

[jkobylka]

I found one of those last summer, I found the name but now I'm spacing!

Justin

[Schlyne]

Wild. That's an animal at first glance doesn't look real because of the color/pattern.

[Colin Vestrand]

my favorite part is that the wings are black and white but the body is so brightly colored... you should have seen the looks i was getting when i stopped to snap a pic with my phone.

[STORMS]

Is it a garden tiger moth? They have white & black on the wings similar to the one in you pic....which is very cool by the way!!!

[STORMS]

How big was it? Could be a giant leopard moth - from what I read those are common in Michigan And they too have the similar wings, etc...

[Colin Vestrand]

yep, thanks! your tiger moth suggestion got me thinking that the wings look like a snow leopard... so i popped that in google and i believe this is a 'great leopard moth'... or some related species of Ecpantheria.
it was large, but not huge... i would imagine there's a great deal of variation in the size, like most insects.

[Colin Vestrand]

geez, now i read that these guys' caterpillars are a variation of those wooly bears that are all over the place here... these are probably more common than i thought.