Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Moon Moth

Another moth sighting on the barn, but this time a Luna Moth.  So very, very beautiful isn't  it?  I had spotted this one on the side of the barn, not very high up, on my way to let the chickens out and ran back inside to get my camera. 

You can see here how she looked while clutching the screen window.  Like a little fighter jet, streamlined.

But then when she opened those wings, OH!  The beauty!  Her wings were slightly translucent and one of the most beautiful colors I've ever seen.  Nobody out-paints Mother Nature.

Fearing that the chickens would find and subsequently eat her, I put her on my finger so I could  moved her to a tree in one of the overgrown gardens.  She stayed for a second then fluttered to the ground, unable to fly.  I'm guessing she was brand new.  According to Wiki:  "Adults emerge from their cocoons in the morning. Their wings are very small when they first emerge and they must enlarge them by pumping bodily fluids through them. During this time, their wings will be soft and they must climb somewhere safe to wait for their wings to harden before they can fly away. This process takes about 2 hours to complete."

I caged my fingers over her and carried her carefully over to the garden and sent her off with good wishes.

That furry body!  Those antennae! Those wing spots! (click on the photos for a closer look)


This is the first time we've seen a Luna Moth here and I feel truly lucky to have had the moment.

I hope you all have a moment of awe courtesy of Mother Nature today.

18 comments:

Maria said...

Wow! What a beautiful creature! How lucky are you to have been up close and personal with it!

x vInTaGe VioLeT x said...

wow what a beautiful moth! and fantastic photo's too :o)

The UnStrungSisters - Amy and Erin said...

How lovely! Great photos too.

eidolons said...

We saw one in a parking lot a month or so ago. It was *amazing!*

Unknown said...

That's the first time I've seen a luna moth ever - and heard of one too. Those photos are amazing, the moth is so beautiful. The fluffy body is cute and the wings just stunning - the spots look almost 3d in the first picture. What a lucky find.

Kristin Forbes-Mullane said...

wow, gorgeous photos!

Sue said...

Absolutely beautiful!
Thank you so much for sharing these amazing pictures.
How lucky you are where you live !
All those amazing moth you have shown us so far....
WOW!!! :0)
Have a wonderful day!
Sue

Sonia / COZY MEMORIES said...

omg what a magical witnessing indeed, I'm so happy for you my friend !
everything about this moth is lovely. So great that you managed to get her climb on your hand so that you could carry her to a safer place. Superb !
xoxoxo

Kim van Waardenburg said...

really stunning nature!!
Thanks for sharing with us!!

RedMarionette said...

I cant believe how furry they are! Just beautiful!

Mr. Spoqui said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
lynn bowes said...

HOLY! FREAKIN'! MOLEY!

What kind of special Minnesota Mecca of Moths are you up there? are you setting out a dish of Purina Moth Chow at night?

I've never seen anything close to that here in Nebraska. We're all about corn, I guess. =-(

xo :: lynn

Margie Oomen said...

omg not only do I want to visit your home one day to poke through your vintage button collection but now I must see all of those beautiful moths.

Mel said...

Hello, I stumbled onto your blog by reading blog rolls from a few of my favorites and your pictures made my day. I'm a nature nut with a lifelong obsession with all the Saturniid moths and your Luna is so beautiful. We reared Cecropia several seasons on the east coast when I was a child and I've never been the same. We've been lucky enough to rear a few of our own and I'm so glad my children have witnessed the magic first hand, just like I did. The only big moth I have seen in Illinois is the polyphemus, and I wonder why I don't see more of them. I worry that their numbers are dwindling as the forest disappear. Thank you for the lovely pictures, and the lovely diversion your blog gave me this evening. It says a lot that you kept the moth safe from the birds. Nice to meet you.

jennlui said...

just glorious lisa! amazing pictures!

seems you are drawing to yourself some beautiful moth friends!

Lisa at lil fish studios said...

Thank you so much, everyone. I knew you'd all love this beauty. :)

Lynn - yup. Purina Moth Chow. haha!!

Margie - anytime.

Mel - oh my goodness, how wonderful to rear Cecropias. We had two on the barn a week or so ago and they were amazing. I moved here from Illinois and had seen only one Cecropia there in all my years. And yes, there's a huge loss of habitat going on there, at least where I came from. Nice to meet you too. I hope you stop back.

Regina Moore said...

Gorgeous pics! Thanks for sharing this beautiful creature with us!

Neuroknitter said...

Stunning! I've never seen a moth like that before, are they native to your geography?

Amazing images!! :)

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