Poodle moth too cute to be real?

Photo copyright Dr. Arthur Anker.

Nature is chock full of amazing stuff.

There are microbes that feed on arsenic as though the deadly poison were Krispy Kremes and bipedal ape-like creatures inhabiting the woods of North Georgia.

Neither of those turned out to be true, but thankfully there’s this picture of the adorably weird Venezuelan poodle moth. Unlike black lions and other animal hoaxes, this creature may be real.

NBC keeps a lid on the hysteria with the headline “Bizarre poodle moth fascinates and frightens the masses online.”

I’m not sure why anyone would be scared of a butterfly’s ugly cousin, but I think you will agree the tropical critter is interesting. The NBC writer, who has perhaps spent too much time with action figures, says the moth resembles “a Power Rangers villain — for example, Finster, the loyal servant of Rita Repulsa.”

Zoologist Arthur Anker allegedly took the poodle moth picture Jan. 1, 2009, but scientists traversing the park in Venezuela where it was seen have been unable to find it again.

That’s why cryptozoologist Karl Shuker is on the case. Shuker, who destroys hoaxes like Piltdown Man destroyed peer review, says the poodle moth may be related to the muslin moth (aka Diaphora mendica), and provides photos of a specimen in North Carolina.

Shuker is unable to determine if the poodle moth is any more real than Mothra, but seems hopeful.

“Thousands of new insects are discovered every year in the South American rainforests, so it would be by no means unusual if the Venezuelan poodle moth proved to be [a new species],” he writes in his blog.