polyphemus lives on

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Recently I received this story from friend and co-staff member Mary Thom Adams.

“On a hot day I found a moth laying up-side-down on a sidewalk. I would have stepped on her if I hadn’t glanced down to be sure of my own steps. Carefully, I slipped paper under her and turned it over on my hand. Her wings filled my hand. The brown that dominated the moth’s wings was the color of coffee with cream [no sugar]. Pink and black formed edges that gave the wings definition and each wing section had a silver circle etched in black. It was incredible. There was no way for me to tell if the moth was dead or alive. It didn’t move on the trip back to Ijams. For a while, I left it in a secluded place in the bushes. If I returned and it was gone, I would be glad it was back in a green place. If it were still there, I would bring it in for the naturalists.

“This story has a happy ending the moth was an Antheraea polyphemus. These moths produce two or more generations per year in the South, living first as caterpillars and then as adult winged moths for about five days.

"Our moth was thought to be dead for most of the afternoon. Then it began to move its legs. Not only did it move, but also it began to lay eggs. Our amazing naturalists carefully moved the moth and the eggs to a terrarium filled with leaves. Once done laying eggs the determined mother died, she was placed in a specimen case and will be at Ijams for years. Her eggs were carefully misted each day. They soon hatched and were fed the proper leaf diet. The polyphemus moth offspring continue to eat, grow and thrive."

She lives on.

-Thanks, Mary Thom

-Photos of the dying, tattered winged female moth and one of her robust offspring supplied by this guy with the camera.

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