2004

MOTHS

Ever since I was a kid I've been fascinated by butterflies and moths.  I grew up in the northeast, where many colorful butterflies could be spotted  - but I hungered for a glimpse of the giant silk moths so beautifully illustrated in field guides. For more information about giant silkworm moths, visit this site - http://www3.islandtelecom.com/~oehlkew/ run by Bill Oehlke. I found it very interesting and helpful.

I can safely say that after 7 years in the Asheville NC area, nearly all the giant silk moths have been regular visitors to my back porch. Keep your porch light on from May onward, and you will see Lunas, Regals, Imperials, IOs, Cecropias, Tulip-Tree Silkmoth, Promethea, and the biggest moth native to the U.S - the Polyphemus moth.

On July 3 2004 came the biggest Polyphemus moth I ever saw- it was a full 6", 15 cm from wingtip to wingtip. There are bats smaller than that! My Peterson's field guide doesn't say so, but I suspect that the big "boy" I found this evening might be a girl - the abdomen is plump, over a half inch wide, and the antennae are slim and not as feathery as my photo. Perhaps it's a newly hatched female, looking to start next year's round of wonders. The irridescent coloring, feathery wing scales and antennae, and graceful form of these creatures rival our favorite birds. Take a close look at one the next time you get a chance!

(This picture is NOT the big one of 2004... I took it a couple of years earlier. This one, a "smal"l male, measures merely 5" across.)

Fortunately, it appears that our giant moths are holding their own - at least in my neck of the woods. There have definitely been two broods of the luna and polyphemus moths in 2004. The first brood (adults) were spotted in May, and the second round showed up in late June / early July. I do not know what effect weather has on these creatures. All I can say is, it's been a miserably cool and wet, depressingly rainy year. Perhaps they like that :-)

And then of course, there are the luna moths. Do you know of ANY kid who has seen these in a guide book and NOT been smitten by the desire to see one? All I can say is, they are more spectacular in real life than in any drawing or photo you will ever see in a book.

The tricky part about loving these giant moths is a desire to see them, and at the same time see them continue their existence.

If you do what I do - leave a porch light on - most of the giant silkworm moths of the eastern U.S. can be viewed.  Resist the temptation to capture them. We have no need of additional scientific specimens, and they are hard to preserve. The equipment and chemicals needed to do the job right are hard to obtain. Enjoy them when you see them, and revel in their truly ephemeral beauty - here tonight, gone tomorrow. But with non-interference you can be guaranteed of seeing them again next year.

A note about my environment - I live in a house deeply embedded in woods at about 2400' feet elevation. The woods surrounding my house consist of beech, maple, oak, a few tulip trees, cherries, and dogwoods. Lots of native spicebush in the undergrowth. Little sunshine in the summer. Normally somewhat wet in spring and dry in summer. I don't know much of anything about moth habitat - except that from experience apparently this is a good place for them.