Canon PowerShot SD700 IS
ƒ/2.8
5.8 mm
1/60

I found a strange furry pod under a rock near the pond. It was a thumb-sized nodule bristling with a jumbled matt of short brown hairs. I thought it might be an egg sac full of spiders so I saved it in an insect container, and waited. After about a month, I was surprised to see this enormous moth next to the pod. The furry home seemed untouched, but was light and empty. Her wings were still inflating, preparing for first flight.

She looks quite exotic, like a visitor from afar

45 responses to “A Moth is Born”

  1. ranjit Avatar
    ranjit

    beautifully fuzzy!

    Reply
  2. PJ Taylor Photo Avatar
    PJ Taylor Photo

    Amazing color! Beautiful shot!

    Reply
  3. shawnhoon Avatar
    shawnhoon

    this wouldn’t be from one of those western tussock caterpillars? I have many of these cocoons right outside my door. Oh it does look like thats the one.

    Reply
  4. nels1 Avatar
    nels1

    the head of hair almost looks like a lion’s mane!

    Reply
  5. tarotastic Avatar
    tarotastic

    Awesome picture and great story.

    Reply
  6. Quicopedro Avatar
    Quicopedro

    Maravillosos colores.
    beautifully colors

    Reply
  7. angry shock Avatar
    angry shock

    What a beautiful surprise that pod had for you, eh? |-)

    I think you picked up the pod ’cause you knew intuitively… You are a moth-oriented creature.

    :—————————————-/////////////////

    Orange is so her color, btw… What´s her actual size?

    Reply
  8. jonatasluzia Avatar
    jonatasluzia

    A Big FaveA Big Fave
    You are invited to add this image to http://www.flickr.com/groups/bigfave
    Please tag this photo with ABigFave when you add it to the pool.

    Reply
  9. nhr Avatar
    nhr

    A Lophocampa pura, perhaps ?

    You might ask these kind fellas at What’s that Bug? 😉

    Reply
  10. biotron Avatar
    biotron

    i can only ever hear Peter Sellers as Clouseau saying "that is what i said…. a moouuurrrwwwwth" when i see one of these

    Reply
  11. we'moon in the woods Avatar
    we’moon in the woods

    A Furry Friday Full Moon special! The furiest animal on the planet...................****A SEA OTTER STORY**** By Leigh Hilbert (Grab a coffee and sit back and read this saga when you have the time to truly enjoy it :) Or print it out. Animal Encounter

    This would be a great story for Animal Encounters but please read the directions

    Reply
  12. Leino88 Avatar
    Leino88

    nhr – right family – wrong species…

    fyi- Lepidoptera, which includes both butterflies and moths, comprises at least 125,000 known species including 12,000 in America north of Mexico…. so it aint easy to identify these guys easily…. unless you’re a bug-geek. (and even then)

    This one is: Pyrrharctia isabella (Banded Woolybear or Isabella Tiger Moth)

    … the cocoon was made from the larva plucking out it’s own hair and slowly creating a "sweater" for itself…one hair at a time!

    btw…there are many genetic variations… color depth, spot intensity, etc…but this is definitely it! (steve knows i would know!)
    🙂

    Reply
  13. Leino88 Avatar
    Leino88

    btw… in that light and fluffy leftover coccon… you should see a small "hole" at one end… that’s where, when hatching from the pupa inside, the moth secretes "stuff" that dissolves just enough of the silk bound, hairy "sweater" to push it’s way through. The hole is just big enough that it compresses the abdomen on it’s way out, helping force the internal fluids to start dispersing to the tiny crumpled wings, and for other needs. Some people (in naivity) cut open the cocoons of moths, thinking they’re helping, but in reality are providing a death sentence to the moth, as this is a necessary part of the eclusion process.
    blah blah blah… sorry…. i get carried away
    😛

    Reply
  14. fisheggs Avatar
    fisheggs

    This was from Half Moon Bay? That’s where my parents live! I’ll have to look out for these next time I visit – absolutely gorgeous shot.

    Reply
  15. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    yeah – a pond near the ocean.

    Alieness: She is about 2 inches long.

    Leino – absolutely fascinating! That explains the Houdini trick of the cocoon escape. I had only seen the break dance of the Painted Lady before…

    Ontogeny of a Painted Lady Steppin' Out spiral proboscis I'm coming out

    Reply
  16. nhr Avatar
    nhr

    Leino99 wrote:
    > nhr – right family – wrong species…
    >
    > This one is: Pyrrharctia isabella

    "Isabella" — a fitting feminine name for this visitor with a beautiful fur stole and elegant cape (^^)

    Reply
  17. Ginstercat Avatar
    Ginstercat

    I saw this in A Big FaveA Big Fave

    Great!

    Reply
  18. angry shock Avatar
    angry shock

    2 inches, kewl! A big girl like me! We must be distant relatives. 😛

    So like, what did you do with her? Do you plan to keep or release her?

    Good input there, Leino, thanks.

    Reply
  19. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    We have a catch and release policy around home… So she is free…. or maybe one of the birds fancied a curry snack. 😉

    nhr: yeah… with the resplendence of Isabella Rossellini

    Reply
  20. angry shock Avatar
    angry shock

    Me likes such a home policy. 😀

    Reply
  21. angry shock Avatar
    angry shock

    "curry" snack, you say for the color, don´t ya? LOL!

    Reply
  22. Leino88 Avatar
    Leino88

    i dunno…. i see that color in diapers here daily…
    😛
    curry’s not the first thing I think of…
    😛

    Reply
  23. angry shock Avatar
    angry shock

    Holy sh*t! -literally- that´s *dis gus ting* 🙁

    😉

    Reply
  24. Leino88 Avatar
    Leino88

    want me to post pictures.?

    HA!
    oi.
    sorry steve… this train of thought is starting to *stink*
    😛

    Reply
  25. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Aha…. that’s a cross-over clue…. maybe something nearby…. hmmm….

    Reply
  26. angry shock Avatar
    angry shock

    "*stink*" is the cross-over clue?

    Stinking waste we have at the puzzle room??

    Fertilizer?

    Reply
  27. mahyongg Avatar
    mahyongg

    its still just trash, recycling, all that kind of sh*t. really. i am quite sure. not? hmm..

    Reply
  28. msamaclean © Avatar
    msamaclean ©

    Wonderful post, excellent comments, fabulous photo ! A fav!

    Reply
  29. BenODen Avatar
    BenODen

    Aw man, I missed this crossover clue! She is a beauty. Cool Info Leino, essentially intentional bruising to get everything a flowin’, eh?

    Reply
  30. noratikko Avatar
    noratikko

    what a lovely thing to witness! She reminds me of my little yellow dog! But then as Jane Siberry says, "Everything reminds me of my dog" 😉

    Reply
  31. angry shock Avatar
    angry shock

    "I remember one morning when I discovered a cocoon in the back of a tree just as a butterfly was making a hole in its case and preparing to come out. I waited awhile, but it was too long appearing and I was impatient. I bent over it and breathed on it to warm it. I warmed it as quickly as I could and the miracle began to happen before my eyes, faster than life. The case opened; the butterfly started slowly crawling out, and I shall never forget my horror when I saw how its wings were folded back and crumpled; the wretched butterfly tried with its whole trembling body to unfold them. Bending over it, I tried to help it with my breath, in vain.

    It needed to be hatched out patiently and the unfolding of the wings should be a gradual process in the sun. Now it was too late. My breath had forced the butterfly to appear all crumpled, before its time. It struggled desperately and, a few seconds later, died in the palm of my hand.

    That little body is, I do believe, the greatest weight I have on my conscience. For I realize today that it is a mortal sin to violate the great laws of nature. We should not hurry, we should not be impatient, but we should confidently obey the external rhythm. "

    ——————————————————-
    -Nikos Kazantzakis, in "Zorba the Greek".

    Reply
  32. LA Lassie Avatar
    LA Lassie

    All interesting comments left above….I think you have charmed a fan, Steve…….LOL She seems quite overwhelmed with you. But I have always enjoyed viewing your photostream myself. I didn’t know we had such a celebrity in our group……..Congratulations on all your achievements. Your links have always been most enjoyable to read. BTW, I like the sepia photos the best…….*smile*

    This is a wonderful shot. I would like to have it in the QEMD group.
    Thanks, Steve.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    QEMD FinchQEMD Finch
    I would like to invite you to add this great photo to the
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/qemdfinch
    (No Rules – Just Educational)

    Reply
  33. AlexandraPhotos (mac73t) Avatar
    AlexandraPhotos (mac73t)

    Beautiful macro. The detail is wonderful

    —
    Seen in QEMD "Finch" (?)

    ——————————————
    You are invited to post this image to "Spectacular Insects, invitation only"
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/Spectacular_Insects/
    Simple Rules::
    1) Only post the image that is invited to be posted to this group (also applies to members)
    2) Please add the tag ‘SpecInsect’ to your image
    3) Please invite others to join and post in the group that have images you think are of spectacular insects
    ——————————————-
    [?]

    Reply
  34. bev short Avatar
    bev short

    Magical!

    Seen in the QEMD "Finch" Group

    Reply
  35. Leeanne munn Avatar
    Leeanne munn

    WOW!! amazing and great story!!! 1-2-3

    Reply
  36. saint magenta Avatar
    saint magenta

    i love her story as much as i love her picture.

    beautifully done *:)

    Reply
  37. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Thanks y’all.

    update: She flew over to Wikipedia and soon a magazine…

    Reply
  38. Tennerka (Irene) Avatar
    Tennerka (Irene)

    Extraordinary Capture! You deserve another Buzz and Bug Award as seen in our pool

    ,Buzz and Bugz

    Please Tag Your Photo with BuzzNBugz

    The Buzz and Bugz Group

    Reply
  39. ethereal range Avatar
    ethereal range


    A+++ Grade Photo

    Reply
  40. adamskeith56 Avatar
    adamskeith56

    lovely detail
    Extraordinary Capture! You deserve another Buzz and Bug Award as seen in our pool

    ,Buzz and Bugz

    Please Tag Your Photo with BuzzNBugz

    The Buzz and Bugz Group

    Reply
  41. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    She has now buzzed over to the April ’08 issue of Gardens West…

    The article title, "The Fuzzy Meteorologist", reminds me of my strange observations on the nighttime navigation of the moth…

    Reply
  42. angry shock Avatar
    angry shock

    So nice to have made it to a mag! Wikipedia was most flattering, but a portrait published in a printed mag, let´s admit it, is the girl´s dream!!

    Reply
  43. Eddi van W. Avatar
    Eddi van W.

    Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Creative Commons- Free Pictures, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
    —
    Found in a search. ( ?² )

    Reply
  44. jankie Avatar
    jankie

    nice shot!
    ~ thanks for sharing your beautiful picture ~
    Creative Commons – Free Pictures

    Reply
  45. beccarodomskybish Avatar
    beccarodomskybish

    [https://www.flickr.com/photos/142107473@N08/36712802396/in/dateposted-public/]
    “Check out our educational use of this image at copy link to the article”

    Reply

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