Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Scared by a Moth


This morning
I was in the garden
picking green beans

As big drops began to fall
I picked a little faster
trying to beat the rain
Pulling back a few leaves
I noticed a small face
looking back at me
Surprised
I thought Humming Bird

But on closer inspection
I found it to be
a VERY BIG moth

And so be warned
You just never know what can be lurking

in a green bean patch

Quite handsome, isn't it?

I tried looking it up in my insects guide, but had no luck finding it. Does anybody have any idea what kind of moth this is? It had a hooked face, big black protruding eyes on the side of its head, and measured a whopping 2+ inches. (This was a beefy moth even though he's most likely a vegetarian!)

3 comments:

  1. By golly I searched too and it is supposed to be pretty hard to ID these beauties unless you have a real scientific understanding of their shapes and habitat.

    I did find a site that allowed you to narrow it down to the state and county you lived in...
    http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map

    Otherwise, I am at a loss.
    But what a great find!

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  2. Thanks Val. I'll give it a look tomorrow.

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  3. I just looked this guy up on the site that Val recomended. What a great site! Anyway, I think that it was a Great Ash Sphinx. Definitly a Sphinx.

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