Is This Bird Poop or Just a Weird Kentucky Bug?

One of my favorite groups to follow is All Bugs Go to Kevin. I am always learning about new and interesting bugs. Something else I love is that folks share pictures and stories to identify strange things found in the wild.

Recently, someone shared a story about being at a park with their family for a picnic. When they found a picnic table to set up on, they went to clean what they thought was bird poop on the top and it moved! Upon closer inspection, it had little legs and wings and antennae.

Come to find out, this little fella in disguise was actually a moth called a Beautiful Wood Nymph. Kind of a misnomer if you ask me since it looks pretty gross, but there is a reason it looks like bird poop.

According to the nature website Treehugger, this moth is part of a species that has evolved to look like nasty goo because, as you probably could guess, not many predators like to snack on poop.

They're not always ugly though. "While unfurled and in flight, the wings of the moth actually are quite beautiful with white and cream tones and symmetrical stripes of dappled rust and black coloring along the edges."

Here is a short video of a Beautiful Wood Nymph perched on some wood.

This moth can be found, "across eastern North America, from Nova Scotia on down to Florida and west into Texas" including right here in Kentucky. Have you ever encountered a Beautiful Wood Nymph? Did you think it was bird droppings at first? If so, I guess that means their disguise works!

Get our free mobile app