Giant Cecropia Moth

[blackmare]

Seriously big, and stunningly beautiful. I found this astonishing creature while out walking at dusk, and stopped in my tracks. The mosquitoes found me the moment I stopped moving, but I didn't care; I had to get photos. The wing span was fully the length of my hand, so close to 6.5 inches, or around 16 to 17 cm.

Comments

[grackle]

It's so beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing with us.

[blackmare]

:-D I was like, "Getting dark out, let's go let's go let's ***SCREECHING-HALT SOUND EFFECT HERE*** OMG THAT IS AMAZING LEMME GET CAMERAAAAAAA"

[spiralsheep]

Stunning. Thank you for sharing. :-)

[blackmare]

You are very welcome. I thought of this community the moment I got the shots, because while the moths seem "common" enough, it's rare to see one. I never had before. Still can't get over the size of it!

[shirebound]

Oh my goodness! *stares in awe*

[blackmare]

Yeah, truly one of the coolest wild-creature encounters I've had. I'm going to have to make a painting now. I think if you're an artist it's, like, federal law or something.

Amazing!

[dialecticdreamer]

Gorgeous photo! Again!

Re: Amazing!

[blackmare]

Thanks! The hardest part of getting the shots was withstanding the onslaught of mosquitoes that began the moment I stopped walking.

[redsixwing]

What a big beauty!

Great photos, too. It's cool the moth camped out on your hand.

[blackmare]

Well, it was sort of sleepy when I found it, not fully awake, so I was able to do that thing where you nudge it very gently and it crawls groggily forward, onto your fingers.

And then of course I put it back where I found it, so it could go forth and reproduce. :-)

[redsixwing]

Hooray! More cecropia moths is an awesome thing.

I think I need to follow this comm.

[turlough]

Wow! I've always thought the colours of this moth must have been exaggerated in the drawings I've seen but it's almost more colourful in reality. And it's much bigger than I imagined it.

[blackmare]

It is CRAZY colorful, and I still cannot get over the red-and-white striped abdomen.

"Design an outfit based on a giant silkworm moth" ought to be an assignment on Project Runway. :D

[lavendertook]

Oh, beautiful! I've seen luna moths close up but never this. Thank you for suffering the itchy bites for us.

[blackmare]

You know, I'm not even feeling the bites today. A lifetime in South Florida (before I moved up here to the Twin Cities) may have rendered me less sensitive to them.

I had also seen a couple luna moths in the wild, but this was a totally new one. I had to Google it to even find out the species.

[calissa]

Impressive! What continent, if you don't mind me asking?

[blackmare]

North America! Saint Paul, Minnesota, to be exact. The species seems to range very widely in the U.S. and Canada, but I didn't see just how far south it goes.

[calissa]

Ah, thank you! It can be sometimes hard to tell in an international community. And I'm from Australia, so I didn't recognise the moth myself.

Also, thank you for sharing such stunning photographs!

[blackmare]

You're very welcome. I was just glad I could get any photos, as the daylight was fading fast.

The cecropia looks like it's a relative of your emperor gum moth in Australia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opodiphthera_eucalypti

Different coloring but otherwise so very similar, and they're both giant silkworm moths.

[calissa]

Oh, yes! I can see the resemblance! I've not seen an emperor gum moth around the local area. It might be mostly too cold for it here or it might be that I need to keep a closer look out. :)