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moth
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Brahmaea hearseyi moth with wide, patterned brown and tan wings rests on a green leaf, with soft-focus foliage in the background. Rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) with bright pink and yellow wings resting on a green leaf.
Vintage illustrations of colorful moths.
A Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) with large tan wings featuring distinctive eye spots rests on a green leaf. White spring moth (Lomographa vestaliata) with pale, outstretched wings rests on soil and twigs in the Netherlands. Two light-colored and two dark melanic peppered moths (Biston betularia) rest on a textured, two-toned tree trunk, demonstrating camouflage and industrial melanism. A banded woolly bear caterpillar (Pyrrharctia isabella) with fuzzy black and orange bands crawls on a textured wooden surface. A large, pale blue-green Atlas moth caterpillar with white spiny protuberances clings to a branch surrounded by green leaves. A flannel moth caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis) with dense, tan and gray hair rests on a green leaf at night. A brightly colored Spurge hawk-moth (Hyles euphorbiae) caterpillar with yellow, black, red, and white markings crawls along a brown twig against a blurred green background.
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Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
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Green tree python snake (Chondropython viridis) in a rainforest.
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Brahmaea hearseyi moth with wide, patterned brown and tan wings rests on a green leaf, with soft-focus foliage in the background.
Owl moth The wings of the Asian Brahmaea hearseyi moth feature a striking combination of muted colors and bold patterns that resemble the face of an owl.

moth

insect
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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moth, (superfamily Noctuoidea), any of about 160,000 species of overwhelmingly nocturnal flying insects that, along with the butterflies and skippers, constitute the order Lepidoptera. Moth are distributed nearly worldwide. Although their larvae may be destructive to certain plants—and several moth species are economically significant pests—many moths are important pollinators of the world’s wild and domesticated flowering plants, and all stages of their life cycle are important to local food webs. For more detailed coverage, see also Lepidoptera and list of butterflies and moths. Moths vary greatly...

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