Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Cecropia Moth

Another new insect I haven't seen before.  This is a member of the silk moth family and is the largest moth in North America.  I found these two by the side of the path this morning and wondered what they were up to.  My guesses were they were (1) just 'hatched'  and letting their wings dry, (2) eating the same food source, or (3) mating.  Only saw one cocoon so one might have recently come out from it but not two.  Googled the life cycle of this moth.  They don't have a mouth or digestive system.  They aren't eating anything.  That leaves mating.  The top mouth fits the description of a female and the bottom one looks to be a male.   Mating takes 24 hours in this species so that would explain why they didn't fly when I came in close for a picture.    Plus they have a leaf  positioned in the right location for a modicum of modesty.
 

1 comment:

Brent said...

Very exciting to find something new I bet. The moths must not live too long?