The Luna Moth: A Photo Essay
One of my goals for this past summer was to find as many moths in the family Saturniidae as I could. The saturniids are the moths that give moths great publicity: they're huge, they're colorful, and they make their presence known. In fact, this family includes North America's largest native moth: the Cecropia moth. The Cecropia moth: Hyalophora cecropia . With a wingspan of up to 6 inches , it is a HUGE moth. I was out at the Barbara A. Beiser Field Station often during the summer, and on my first day there, in late May, I struck gold. As I knelt down to examine a Clubtail dragonfly ( Gomphus sp.), I heard a strange rustling in the grass nearby. I took a few quick snapshots of the dragonfly and turned around to see what was causing the ruckus. I could hear it, but due to the dense, wet, matted grass, I couldn't quite find it. And then I saw it. But...what was it, exactly? My eyes darted around, surveying the yellow, white, and maroon mass crawling towards me. At fir...