Skip to main content

Big BIG moth

I just wanted to share a bit of the wildlife that can be found in Walnut Grove. This morning when I arrived at the shop, this critter was perched on the glass door. (Dave's got my good camera in Romania, so I had to take this picture with my phone.)

He just sat there while I went back home and got a wide mouth pint jar, a jar ring and a piece of sparkly tulle to capture him with. I think he was in a meditative trance because there was nothing to putting the jar over him. As soon as he realized he was enclosed, he went nuts. His wingspan was so large that he couldn't stretch out. He was fluttering like crazy so I knew I couldn't keep him long. I took him to the bank, the gas station, and to a neighbor's house. The only identifing information I got was, "That's a moth." I wanted a little more than that, but that was a good start. After about 10 minutes of imprisonment, I let it go. It looked like a bat flying away because it was so big. When
he was sitting on the door, he was about 3.5 inches long and about 3 inches wide. When I say he was big, he was BIG. I've never seen a moth that big before. His wingspan was about 6 or so inches.
I found a website (http://www.bugguide.net/). I posted the pictures a little while ago and got an immediate response. It is a regal moth or royal walnut moth, and it really is as big as I said. Here's the link to the official description: http://bugguide.net/node/view/3559. Since he was on the glass door, I could get a shot of his underside, too.

I don't think I will ever cease to be amazed at the diversity and creativity of God's creation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Year's Resolution--Day 8

Dave said in his sermon this past Sunday that 25% of New Year's Resolutions are broken before 2 weeks have past. I haven't made it that far yet, but I'm doing pretty good. Right now, the only unfolded thing in the laundry room is the dirty laundry. I'm not folding that. Not everything is put away, but everything clean is folded and stacked or hung up. It is a good feeling to know that I can find exactly what I'm looking for, unless it's dirty. It's great!
1 comment
Read more

Wired

I decided that today I'd try to finish the bathroom. The main thing I needed help with was the light fixture and the outlet. There were 2 wires coming into the bathroom, not official receptacles, except for the switch. I called my dad to come help me figure out the wiring. He ended up doing all the work because it wired so strangely. So we ran the wires down inside the walls rather than just hanging down from the ceiling. There is an official outlet and a wired in light fixture. The other thing I needed help with was removing the toilet tank so that I could remove the wallpaper from behind it and paint behind it. Dad helped me with that, too. Actually, he did most of the work on that. When I got the supplies from the building supply store in Carthage this morning, I told the man that this bathroom is so small it should be measured in square inches rather than feet. Eight square feet is a generous estimate. I tell people that you can potty and wash your hands at the same time, savin...
1 comment
Read more

What a Long Strange Trip

There have been times in my life when nothing testing or trying has occurred for a long time. The past couple of years have not been like that. Just this past month, my daughter Elizabeth just turned 2. Her little life has been eventful. It all started with her. While I was still pregnant with her, the doctor discovered a mysterious cyst growing in her abdomen. He did not know what it was--he gave me 3 possibilities. He sent me to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist who also gave me the same 3 possibilities. So after ultrasounds every 2 weeks, the cyst continued to grow to be about 10 cm (yes, that's 4 inches--softball size). At 37 1/2 weeks, my doctor decided that she needed to be delivered by section because he just didn't want to take chances with the cyst. Seh was delivered fine and seemed to be completely fine, except for a bigger than normal belly. After we were released from the hospital, we went straight (and I do mean straight) to the Children's Hospital in Jackso...
Post a Comment
Read more