Made a nice discovery as I was loading to bike on the car for a little sweating practice on the trail this morning. Walked past a clump of Hostas and noticed a big dead leaf on one of them. Took a closer look and discovered this Polyphemus moth clinging to a leaf. The wingspread on this moth is almost as wide as my hand is long ((click on the picture and you'll see an almost life sized picture). The adults don't feed, and have a pretty short lifespan- the females emerge and emit a pheromone at night that attracts males from quite a distance away. It's odd to pick up a moth this big and discover that you can actually feel a little weight to them. I suspect this specimen is near the end of its lifespan, seeing some fraying at the edges of its wings.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Morning Discovery
Made a nice discovery as I was loading to bike on the car for a little sweating practice on the trail this morning. Walked past a clump of Hostas and noticed a big dead leaf on one of them. Took a closer look and discovered this Polyphemus moth clinging to a leaf. The wingspread on this moth is almost as wide as my hand is long ((click on the picture and you'll see an almost life sized picture). The adults don't feed, and have a pretty short lifespan- the females emerge and emit a pheromone at night that attracts males from quite a distance away. It's odd to pick up a moth this big and discover that you can actually feel a little weight to them. I suspect this specimen is near the end of its lifespan, seeing some fraying at the edges of its wings.
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