Giant Silk Moth, Hyalophora cecropia... outside my kitchen window. Largest moth in North America. Females with wing spans of 6 to 7 inches.
Top 3 pictures were taken last evening. Moth was stationary. I thought it was an ornament that some one put in the bush...
This morning she was still there but opening and closing it's wings.
Would say the wing span on this one is just under 6 inches... These guys are born without a mouth or digestive organs. They live for 2 weeks, with sole purpose of mating and laying eggs.
When the eggs hatch the larve go through 5 stages. Caterpillars reach maturity in Autumn getting to be over 4 inches long....
As I am making this post went to check on the moth and saw a second Giant Silk moth mating with the first.
Got some photos & video for a follow up post...
Her's a video with my cell phone of just the female.
To mate, the female sends out pheromones which the male can detect up to a mile away. Mating usually begins in the morning and last into the evening.
