Cecropia moth sighting!

[weaverbird]

Guys! Guys! Look at this beauty! A female Cecropia moth, Hyalophora cecropia. She's perched on a yew outside my house. (Click each picture for a bigger view.)

When I first spotted her, about 9:30AM, she had her wings closed, like this:



45 minutes later, when I returned from running errands, she was still there and, as I walked past her, she very obligingly spread her lovely wings and posed for me.



I didn't want to scare her away, so I didn't get too close, but she's huge - her wingspan is about the length of my whole hand, from fingertips to wrist.

Here's a link to the Wikipedia article on Hyalophora cecropia, for those who want to read more.