Crestview moth similar to 'Jesus image' moth on CNN

CRESTVIEW — As CNN publicized the discovery of an unusual moth in east Texas on Wednesday, a sample of the same species was found at a Crestview business the same day.

Showbiz Tan area manager Naomi Akers, a confessed bug admirer, noticed the moth on the South Ferdon Boulevard tanning salon’s window.

The moth, which has nearly a three-inch wingspan, has delicate brown markings on its butter-colored body. On its torso, the markings can appear to be a bearded face similar to popular representations of Jesus.

Akers summoned customer service representative Nicole James, who immediately recognized the insect.

“She came running in and said, ‘It’s a Jesus moth!’” Akers said. “She’s the one who actually saw the face of Jesus in it. I just thought it was a big, neat moth.”

The women placed the moth in a jar as it clung to their front window.

The finder of the Texas moth promptly brought the bug to his pastor, according to the CNN video.

Local clergymen caution the faithful not to read too much into a moth’s markings.

“What you see in that moth, those things are up to a person’s personal interpretation,” said the Rev. John Cayer of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Crestview. “The church doesn’t look at that as public revelation. That’s individual piety.”

University of West Florida County Extension agent Larry Williams said the seemingly unusual moths are not that odd. It’s just people rarely get to see them.

He identified the species as an imperial moth and said they are not unusual in areas that have deciduous forests — like north Okaloosa County.

“The moth is quite common,” Williams said. “The chances of a human coming in contact with them is not usual because we’re not out at night, and they don’t last that long in their adult stage.”

Williams said he hears more from the public about the imperial moth’s unusually large larval stage.

As for finding the face of Jesus on the insect’s back, Cayer advises the faithful not to place too much credence in the coincidence.

“These things come and go,” he said. “There will be something new next month.”

Read more at crestviewbulletin.com and in the August 30 edition of the Crestview News Bulletin.

Click here to view the cnn.com report on the similar moth in Texas.