moth

This afternoon I was planting some things in the front garden - a lovely variety of woodland perennials my friend gave me from her own garden - and plop! Suddenly this huge moth landed right in front of me.



Isn't it gorgeous? That sucker is has a good 3" wingspan. It wasn't moving a whole lot, even when I prodded it gently with a stick (I shouldn't have done that, I know, but I wanted to see if it was still alive. It was.) It stayed around long enough for Daniel to look at it (he wanted to poke it with a stick, too, but I wouldn't let him), and then I got the camera for a picture. Later in the evening, though, it was gone. I like to think he (she?) went on his (her?) merry way to munch leaves or lay eggs or whatever moths do this time of year. Or maybe it went off to die. I just don't know. I know shockingly little about biology.

Does anyone know what kind of moth that is?

Comments

I posted this comment on your knitting site, but I'll post it here, too. That looks like a Polyphemus moth, or Antheraea polyphemus. More info available at http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=3290.

:-)
Jessi said…
I walked into the bathroom one night late last summer and the bathroom light was on and there was a moth on our window the size of the window. I have never seen anything like it. Totally beautiful. Bob is afraid of moths, so I'm pretty sure it gave him nightmares. This one is gorgeous, though.
Caffeine Girl said…
I was relieved that your post was about a nature topic. My first thought was: Oh no! What sweater was attacked?
Becca said…
I think Jenn is right. I thought at first it was a luna moth, but it's the wrong color for that.

I occasionally see hummingbird moths in my backyard (hummingbirds, too). Hummingbird moths are a trip!
Pam said…
Neat!! Thanks for posting!
Animal said…
I think, technically speaking, that the scientific name of your moth is "Frickin' Ginormous!"

(Shortented to "F. Ginormous" for texts.)

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