Lepidopteran visitor

Last week I came home from shopping one weeknight and Jim told me that there had been a huge moth on the deck. He added that it might be there still. I dropped everything and went out to have a look. Lucky for me, the moth was still on our deck. I sat and looked at it for a while, and then went for my camera.
Look at the legs on that thing. The legs seem tarantula-like


The undercarriage, or as close as I dared to get to underneath it without scaring it
It's a polyphemus moth.
That's Paul's hand as a comparison. Paul got close enough to pet the furry patch on the body, although the moth didn't like that very much and jumped back a few inches--but didn't fly away.
What a pretty insect!

The moth just sat there for a few hours. It was gone the next morning. I wonder where it went. I would have liked to see it fly.

Comments

Jake and Steph said…
So lucky! I've never seen a live polyphemus moth before. The huge moths are really something cool to see. Couple summers back, we hatched a cecropia moth and found a luna moth trapped in our garage. Sounded like a bird flapping its wings. I think the big moths only present themselves to those willing to appreciate them.
Jen said…
Such a neat creature. I can't believe it's considered a moth because it's so pretty. Moths are supposed to just be white/beige things that hang out in light fixtures.
K. Dillard said…
I'm such a wuss, I would have crapped my pants had I seen a bug that big. LOL Nice capture!