Sunday, May 20, 2012

Cecropia Moth

I missed out on this one... my son  Jordan had brought home a cocoonish looking item from is cousin's house when Holly and kids visited a wile back in the spring.  He had left it, forgotten in the van.  Upon leaving for an errand the other day, the kids crawled into the van only to find there was already someone inside.  Turns out the cocoon was from a Cecropia Moth.


Cecropia Moth

Cecropia Moth and cocoon

Cecropia Moths are the largest North America moth and can get up to 6" or 150mm across in wing-span.  One thing unique about this moth...it has no mouth or any way to eat.  It's sole purpose is to mate and lay eggs.  On average, the moths live about a week.



The process of metamorphosis (larvae to pupa to moth/adult) is an amazing wonder and remains a mystery... to me it is a testament of intricate design.

2 comments:

  1. We just had a similar experience. Last week Jonathan brought a praying mantis egg case into the van. Yesterday afternoon the van was full of praying mantis babies.

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  2. Awesome. I don't recall ever seeing this amazing moth.

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