So last fall, grandma gave us these two cool looking cocoons that were stuck to branches. Knowing what a sucker I am for raising wildlife, she figured the kids could watch whatever came out of them. We put them in an old cage, and promptly forgot about them. They overwintered in the garage, and I found the sticks with cocoons still attached this spring while putting away some stuff in the garage. Still didn't dispose of them... Then today, while deep cleaning in the garage, I came across the cage again. And prompty got freaked out by the huge moving things inside. MOTHS! Yikes...these suckers are big and beautiful! Check out the pictures up close for the details.
You can see the hairy red legs, and the cool designs on their bodies...I wonder what kind of moths they are?
2 comments:
That's amazing Sarah. How big is their wing span. It's hard to judge their size because I can't tell how big the container is. When I looked closer at the pictures, it looks like eggs attached to some leaves, the carton, etc. Fascinating and what a find!
Pam, the wingspan is about 5 inches (the bigger of the two). I've since found out that these are the biggest moth found in North America, they feed mostly on fruit trees, and they die within a week of hatching -- they don't even have mouths for feeding, because they are busy reproducing and laying eggs. I posted some more info on my Facebook page...
The catepillars of this species are REALLY cool looking! And yes, there are tons of eggs laid in there!
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