What Dark Brown Moth or Butterfly Has a Metallic Electric Blue Body and Orange Head?

In mid-June I started paying attention to the many butterflies and moths that were enjoying the flowering shrubs. One really caught my eye though: it had a shiny, turquoise blue body and very plain dark wings. The first one I watched kept flying between a flowering shrub and a nearby conifer tree. Eventually I got a good look at it (and some photos) so I could identify it as a Virginia Ctenucha Moth.

Do Moths Only Fly at Night?

Photo of Virginia Ctenucha Moth Nectar on NaturalCrooksDotCom

Nope. That’s one of the many things that make it tricky for me to know whether to look for a new winged wonder in my Peterson Field Guide to Moths or my ROM Guide to the Butterflies of Ontario.

Yes, I know butterflies usually perch with their wings closed held up over their backs. So how come I keep getting great photos of everything from Swallowtails to Little Satyrs with their wings spread flat out to admire?

Yes, I understand that butterflies usually have “club” ends to their antenna and moths usually have “feathery” antenna. When an insect is flying past at a zillion kilometers an hour, though, I can’t usually see the antenna at all.

Photo of Virginia Ctenucha Moth Antenna on NaturalCrooksDotCom
You can see this Ctenucha’s feathery antenna.

Anyway, to my surprise, this showy creature was a day-flying moth, mingling happily with all other sorts of butterflies, including Cabbage Whites, Little Wood Satyrs, Red Admirals and even a few Hairstreaks.

Photo of Virginia Ctenucha Black Phase on NaturalCrooksDotCom
These moths can look very black in certain lights.

Does the Virginia Ctenucha Live on Virginia Creeper?

The first of these moths that I saw were in an area with lots of Virginia Creeper vines.

Photo of Virginia Ctenucha Moth Blue Body On NaturalCrooksDotCom
The electric blue body is very noticeable especially in flight.

Apparently that has nothing to do with the name, though. This Ctenuchas’ caterpillars like to eat grasses, sedges and iris, according to BugGuide.net.

As I saw, the moths like to take nectar from flowers.

Photo of Virginia Ctenucha on Gravel On NaturalCrooksDotCom
This particular Ctenucha was apparently gathering minerals from the path.

Virginia Ctenucha can be found in the state of Virginia. They are also found in all of the Canadian provinces.

Photo of Virginia Ctenucha Moths Flight on NaturalCrooksDotCom
This shows that in flight you may see some of the white edging on the wings and the blue and orange colouring.

I quite enjoyed seeing these moths and just when I was getting used to them, they vanished. I’m not sure if we will get two batches of adults in this area, so I’ll have to keep my eyes open over July and August for reappearance.

Photo of Virginia Ctenucha Moth Head On on NaturalCrooksDotCom
When the Ctenuchas are moving around plants sometimes the orange near the front end is very noticeable.

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Have you seen one of these moths with the startlingly blue body? Please share your sighting with a comment.

69 thoughts on “What Dark Brown Moth or Butterfly Has a Metallic Electric Blue Body and Orange Head?

  1. We just saw one of these on our butterfly bush. We live in SW Ontario and I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen one. Thanks for posting your findings — I had gotten online in an effort to identify it.

  2. A friend, who lives in central Minnesota, has seen many of these around her rural home for the first time this year. Would this sighting more southerly of the Canadian provinces be related to global warming?

    • I believe that Minnesota has been part of their range all along, in which case it’s more likely that something has changed near her home that is helping them, perhaps a new type of grass, sedge or iris is growing in the area. Luckily, they are not considered a pest, so it should be ok. Thanks for sharing the sighting!

  3. I have tons feeding on milkweed on my property in Northeast Wisconsin. I had to search many sites to find the name and physical characteristics. None of the references list them as native to Wisconsin.

  4. Found one on my garden fence in rural central Wisconsin, near Waupaca. We have all kinds of plants, live near the “tension zone” so there are a variety of habitats, lots of water, mix of prairie, conifer and hardwood forest. Thank you for the opportunity to ID this insect, new to me.

  5. I am in Cheboygan, Michigan and out of nowhere this moth/butterfly came flying in plain daylight. It stayed flying around for a bit and it disappeared. It was beautiful!!

  6. Just looked up the little dark moth and, yes , this is what we have. This is the second year we’ve had them. We are near Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

  7. Unfortunately, the moth I saw was dead – in the house. We are in Lewiston, Michigan – northern part of the mitten. I was happy to find out what it was. Now I can look for more.

  8. I had seen only one on July 17, 2017. It struck me as strangely beautiful as I had never seen this coloration on a moth as I live in NY. I had only seen it because of the beautiful electric blue colors. It continued to land gently on the tip of my nose, softly yet the wings flapped happily and rather fast.

  9. Just saw one in Johnson, Vermont. One of the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen. Fluttered right in front of me and landed on my sweatshirt.

  10. I just had one land on my leg. Scared me at first but it’s colors are beautiful. Had to Google search to find out what it was. I am in Goshen Indiana…

  11. Just spotted a resting specimen on an Echinacea at dusk, here in Buffalo NY. I got a few photos before I lost the light. What a brilliant beauty!

  12. We have spotted one on our flowering milkweed, in Wadsworth Township, Ohio. We planted milkweed for monarchs, but have had some bonus visitors!

  13. We live mid-way between Ottawa and Brockvill in Ontario, Canada. We were inspecting the “Monarch Nursery” for Monarch eggs, which we found about 70 under a leaf, that we are cultivating in the back “40” and came across this beauty drinking the nectar from the Milk Weed. Such a beautiful sight.

  14. Yes I am in Smithfield, RI and I spotted this pretty creature on a butterfly bush just the other day. I love your pictures!

  15. Found one of these this afternoon just sitting in my dirt driveway. It flew right away on my 4 year old daughter and stayed on her,crawling around for 15 minutes than flew away. Never seen anything like it, love the colour. Im located in New Brunswick, canada

  16. On July 1, 2019 finally able to identify as a couple of them landed on our flowering shrubs as we were sitting on our deck in Beldenville, WI. I had noticed them flying around recently so was happy when they landed in front of us and offered us a good look.

  17. I live in Oklahoma and just saw this electric blue moth for the first time ever here! Short lived life though as the chickens got it.

  18. First sighted on June 18 on some lamb’s quarters near the flower bed. Saw several in the following few days in other parts of the yard. We are in Two Hills County in Alberta

  19. We have one in our garden resting on a day lily. Very pretty. Had never seen one before. We are in Hermon, Maine, close to Bangor.

  20. I’m in Western Michigan. I was just outside, after a thunderstorm, and this little guy kept flowing me around & wouldn’t leave. I had to Google what it was as I was pretty sure it wasn’t a butterfly but I was very curious what EXACTLY it was. Without a doubt, this was it.

  21. I have some here that have red ring neck and dark blue head otherwise seem to be same .the kids catch a pair and. While in jar mated . so we know we have a male and female just not sure what species of moth they are …dark blue body which we originally was black . with like a moth wasp. Feathery but thin antennas. Any clues?

    • You may want to check on BugGuide.net. Some others that come to mind are Grapeleaf Skeletonizer and Yellow-Collared Scape Moth. Good luck hunting it down!

    • I found a Virginia Ctenucha inside my house tonight, just seems to be resting. Should I try to put it outside if it’s still there in the morning?

      Thanks for the ID!

  22. Saw one in my driveway tonight. The body was really kind of florescent when I shined a light on it. Looked exactly like the picture on here, now I know what it is. I’m in Western New York, about 45 minutes from Buffalo.

  23. We saw this beautiful moth flittering around our garden. After many attempts, we finally got a picture. It is absolutely magnificent. I wish I could post it for you all. Anyway, we are in Oregon. This little guy must have traveled a long way. I feel blessed to have experienced it, with its rarity around here & its beauty.

  24. I live in DeGraff OH and this moth was just on my wall in my living room this morning 5/31/22.

  25. Just saw one yesterday – May 30th at a Nature reserve in Northeastern PA. First time I’ve ever seen one.

  26. I saw 2 today in East Aurora NY. I thought they were dead. Seemed quite lethargic. I am located on the other side of Lake Erie, across from Ontario.
    I hope the perk up.

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