For the moth lovers out there, some eye candy!

[MoonRiver]

[link:|

[bunnies]

1. whoa! Heres one of my faves:

[MoonRiver]

2. Beautiful and awesome camouflage!

But moths are masters of that I believe.

[bunnies]

4. I think so too.

We had a gorgeous moth in our apt the other night which started an epic butterfly vs moth debate. Drives me nut that butterflies get all the props. I mean c'mon. Look at this thing!



edit: This is not the one that was in our house. I wish!

[MoonRiver]

5. That's an amazing creature!

[bunnies]

6. Isnt it? The adults dont even eat!

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Actias-luna

[MoonRiver]

9. Reading your link made me think of that old song "After Midnight!"

Except for not eating, , moths know how to party!

[bunnies]

13. lmao.

Same thing happened to me when I found it a few weeks ago.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. Had those in Michigan. The caterpillars are bright green and HUGE.

Never heard them scream though. Or speak German.

[bunnies]

22. That caterpillar looks like he's been hangin round GD too much.

I havent been lucky enough to see a luna moth in person. That green just kills me.

[calimary]

37. Just totally stunning! The whole idea - it just knocks me out!

Fascinating and Glorious and utterly Ingenious! Just a marvel...

[bunnies]

38. Look at the color of this one...

I just love moths.

[calimary]

42. Totally remarkable!!!! Nature's glory!!!!

I'm in awe. Spectacular little creatures!

[MoonRiver]

43. OMG, simply gorgeous!

[Agony]

3. a nice rosy maple nt

[BlueToTheBone]

7. Isn't it great? I saw one in a meadow one day and

was just enchanted.

[bunnies]

8. ok. One more pic then Im done. I swear.

Atlas moth:



Theyre huge.

[MoonRiver]

11. Just stunning!

I noticed two things. First it looks like an Indian blanket. Second the wing tips look like snake heads.

[bunnies]

12. oooh. Youre right!

I didnt even see the snake heads! Nice catch.

[MoonRiver]

14. Moths are survivors!

Long after humans have become extinct, due to our own stupidity, moths will be flying high.

[bunnies]

17. assuming we havent deforested the planet.

At this rate, who knows.

[MoonRiver]

19. Yes, sadly.

[mike_c]

15. not snake heads so much as larval mimics....

A bird's first strike on a resting adult moth is likely to be a wing edge, which looks like a plump, juicy caterpillar, giving the moth time to drop and escape or to reveal the startle patterns on its hind wings. There are several saturniid moths with larval mimic wing edges.

Check out Polyphemus, for example:



head/eye mimic at the leading forewing margin, with segmentation and shading mimicry along the lateral margin. And startle spots on the hind wings, which are normally hidden at rest.

[MoonRiver]

21. Nature is so amazing!

[calimary]

29. LOVE that! "Startle spots." Nature is BRILLIANT!

All these photos are Gorgeous!!! Thanks for posting all these!

Shots like these give me a little more hope for the survival of our planet, if the ecosystem can still support such delicate, magical creatures. I find myself thinking that every time I see one of those Mexican-fire-opal-orange dragon flies.

[ljm2002]

10. Stunning!

As are the other moths shown in this thread.

K&R

[mike_c]

16. nice! an arctiid, I presume?

Beautiful!

[Agony]

30. Saturniidae - Dryocampus rubicunda

Last edited Sat Aug 17, 2013, 06:13 PM - Edit history (1)

but the Tigers have been around, Arctia caja americana and Grammia virgo, certainly as spectacular as the Rosy Maple!

a-mothing-we-go!

(edit oops...Dryocampa not Dryocampus)

[mike_c]

44. hah! it's a tough call in that view...

...for someone taking a wild guess. It's a beautiful specimen and a great photo!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. Looks like some fuzzy pajamas an ex-girlfriend had.

[brer cat]

23. Thanks, MoonRiver

and all who added their pix. These are all exquisite!

[Fumesucker]

24. Wow! Nice coloring..

Here's a video I did last summer of a clearwing hummingbird moth in our garden.

http://tinypic.com/r/2aaj5ex/6

[MoonRiver]

26. Very nice! It did look a lot like a hummingbird.

[calimary]

36. WOW, Fumesucker!

That is Extraordinary!!!!!! What part of the country do you live in? I've never seen that before!

Thanks for posting it here!

Dang! I'm loving this thread!!!!

[ZombieHorde]

25. I never considered myself a "moth lover,"

but I am really glad I checked this thread out. Thanks for posting!

[MoonRiver]

27. They're one of nature's under appreciated beauties.

Could be because they mainly come out after dark.

[Hekate]

28. Awestruck at the gorgeousness of moths

Thanks so much, MoonRiver, for starting this thread.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

31. Grow a patch of milkweed and wild monarda,

then just sit back and watch. All kinds of moths and butterflies visit these plants. Have a nice little weed patch right outside my front door, so I can sit on the stoop and just stare.

[MoonRiver]

35. Sweet! I'm going to try that!

[SammyWinstonJack]

32. Just....wow!

The coloring.........amazing!

[NuclearDem]

33. Oh, pretty colors huh? You're not fooling me you winged fluffy terror.

If it isn't obvious, I'm unreasonably terrified of most flying insects.

[bunnies]

39. lol!

The one I posted in #8 is a foot wide. You'd probably be scarred for life.

[NuclearDem]

41. Oh geez, just saw that.

[democrank]

34. Absolutely beautiful!

Thanks for posting this.

[MoonRiver]

40. You're welcome!

Moths are one of my favorite critters!

[Liberal_in_LA]

45. amazingly beautiful

Saw a gigantic moth in la yesterday in store parking lot. Huge thing