foundling

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Spectacular lepidopteran!

On a visit to Ijams, Johanna Neubrander from Greeneville found a female cecropia moth on the pavement near the parking lot. The moth was alive but seemed near death, perhaps exhausted.

One of the giant silk moths, the cecropia is the largest moth found in North America. Females have a wingspan of over five inches; that's as big as your outstretched hand!

The adults do not live long, days really. Their sole purpose is to mate and lay eggs. Johanna’s foundling had probably already accomplished her mission.

When walking, Johanna always looks for one unique thing to give the outing special meaning. On this day, it was the cecropia.

Seeing something this exquisitely beautiful will certainly make one's day.

Thoreau wrote, "There is elevation in every hour, as no part of the Earth is so low that the heavens may not be seen from it." 

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