Hearing things

[Nolapete]

I just got off the phone and then started hearing things. It honestly sounded like a rat gnawing on something, but I don't have rats, so I had to wonder. I kept on hearing it. I finally tracked it down to right outside my front door and opened the door and found this huge moth flapping at the foot of the door. I picked it up to investigate. This thing is huge. Close to a 6" wingspan and at least 3.5-4" head to tail. I put it in a small plastic container so I could find my camera and get some pictures. It's abdomen is huge. I took some pictures then see something on the container which I first thought was moth poo, but upon further investigation it is moth eggs. I went to check the door outside and sure enough there are 4-5 eggs on the door. She's still sitting in the container laying her eggs on it. I'll get some more photos and post them soon. Have to recharge the camera batteries.

[Weezer]

If you ship me the moth and eggs, i'll feed them to our cichlids, just a thought ........:grinyes:

[mee-mee]

can't wait to see what the moth looks like....how about some leaves and a little branch for the moth, see how long you can keep her alive, or just take pix and then set her free...:) wonder what kind of caterpillars they will turn out to be.....or larvae....and our cichlids don't need any food...especially moths or moth eggs....

[247Plants]

I believe moths typically dont live very long(>24hrs) after laying eggs.

Get the photos soon!

[Lupin]

If you ship me the moth and eggs, i'll feed them to our cichlids, just a thought ........:grinyes:
Or he can ship it to me for my aro.:silly: :D

[Nolapete]

Pics...gonna bring her and the eggs to a girl at work that is into them.

There's about 18 eggs in the container and 4-5 on the front door that I could see. I'm going to check in the morning to see if there's more.

[Toirtis]

Nice Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus)...I wish they were more common here in Alberta.

[Rbishop]

Sharp! Those are very common here in NC.

[Reefscape]

a very pretty "little" moth...

Niko

[Dwarf Puffers]

Nice moth!! Hope all the eggs hatch!!

Btw Toirtis, I'm headin' to Calgary this summer :)

[Que]

I saw one once and thought it was a bat at first. It was flying around at a baseball game under the lights.

Q

[FL22]

wow thats really cool!

what exactly are you going to do with the eggs?

[Weezer]

We dont get'em that big up here.........:)

[mee-mee]

That is a beautiful moth...and they do have short lives....only a week as an adult...wow, such a waste on a pretty moth...yeah what are ya going to do the eggs...they will turn into little yellow caterpillars..:)

[Nolapete]

A woman I work with is really into that kind of thing, so I brought them to her. She was ecstatic. Her grandfather is even more nutso about that kind of stuff, so between the two of them they are going to raise a few and release the others near her house.

[Dangerdoll]

Holy smokes!! I certainly hope the leash was tight enough on that mama when you transported her, hehehe... really rthough, that's pretty cool. I have never in my entire life seen a moth that humungous.

[S.A.]

Once she is done, see if you can save her body. As a science teacher, I know there has to be a school around who would want a very nice specimen. :)

Check it out.

[Nolapete]

UPDATE:

The woman I work with who is into bugs has been feeding the caterpillars and they are growing like crazy. Some of the bigger ones are close to 2 inches long. She has about 45 of them in two bug barns. She's photo documenting the whole growth process daily. I'll try to get some pics from her to post.

[jpappy789]

Sweet!