I was very excited to find that the Cecropia moth that made a cocoon in a rose bush last fall has emerged. The rose bush was in line to get snow from the roof and was in a very exposed spot so before the cold weather came I cut the rose stem with the cocoon and leaned it up against a tree where it would be more protected. I think the moth must have just emerged shortly before I saw it this evening as it was resting on the cocoon and still looked a little curled.
As you can or maybe can't see, it isn't in a very obvious spot. It is about a third of the way down in the photo.
It was starting to get dark so the picture is a bit fuzzy from the low light but you can see its beautiful markings and fluffy red antenna. It is, according to Wikipedia, the largest moth in North America although I guess it depends on which way you are measuring because I think a luna moth would be longer.
I had been checking the cocoon every day as I had read the moth emerges at this time of year but I really didn't think that I would see the event.
No comments:
Post a Comment