Bug mystery solved

Not long after I got home from work, Lucas alerted me to the presence of one of these scary-looking bugs, crouching against the hurricane-shutter track outside the sliding glass door to the terrace (then, thank goodness, closed). This wasn't the first time I'd seen one of these here (but I don't recall ever having seen one before I moved here). For the cats' safety, I've whisked the bugs off the terrace before. I was about to take a nap before walking down to the gym shortly before 9:00 and just hoped the bug would be gone by the time I woke up. Lucas napped on the pillow beside me.

When we woke up, we noted that the bug was still there -- and Lucas was aching to get at it. I wasn't about to let that happen. I immediately fetched a whisk broom and managed to keep Lucas at bay while I brushed the bug out of its resting place and off the edge of the terrace; it had refused to fly away on its own. Only then did I let Lucas out onto the terrace.

I had some time before I had to head off to the gym, so I did a Google image search on the bug: "black wasp with red tail". Sure enough, I found it here. It's a Polka Dot Wasp Moth (Syntomeida epilais) (#54). I then looked up Syntomeida epilais in the Wikipedia and found this.

So it's just a moth that looks like a vicious wasp, also known as the Oleander Moth. And wouldn't you know, there's an oleander tree growing just off the terrace. (The tree was planted several years ago and has grown to where it now brushes up against one corner of the terrace.)

They are dark metallic blue with a couple of white polka-dots dotting the wings and upper abdomen. The tip of the moth's abdomen is bright red; it looks like a very dangerous wasp, but in fact is a harmless moth.The caterpillars are orange or dark orange with long black hairs. The caterpillars look dangerous, but the setae do not inflict any harm.^[1][2]

[Emphasis added.]  Here's a link to an image gallery here.

These moths, I learned, are "day fliers," so I figure the bug was settling in for the night (which would also explain why it wouldn't fly).

I'll still keep whisking them off the terrace when I see them. Even though I now know they're harmless, I don't want Lucas mauling them for his amusement.

(How great is the Internet!)