Saturday, August 21, 2010

A Royal Visit!

The Eacles imperialis (Drury) (Saturniidae) or the Imperial Moth!!



The dogs started to bark and were trying to grab it at first I thought they were chasing a yellow leaf I dont know if its injured or just emerged from the ground...from the research I did it appears they mature in late September to early October and pupate in overwintering cells in the ground. I placed it in a box to observe it and keep it safe until it can fly.




It is unable to fly...just sort of flip flops and for a while it was not standing on legs but now She is using her legs. According to my Golden Butterfly and Moth Field Guide its a female...its quite large as you can see..







Says in the book they eat Oak, Pine, and Sassafras to name a few and we have each of those trees right where it was found!!  I released it a little later as I read they hatch out of the ground and then they breed and die within a few days!

Earlier this week the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail-female- came around...she was quite large too..


This fellow is a daily visitor to flowers I have sitting on the deck...




 We had a lovely sunset the other night...



And a big strom passed close by


Nature entertains me everyday!!

4 comments:

  1. Wow Dixxe, these pictures are superb! All of them.
    Beautiful sunsets, and that Imperial Moth is a real beauty.
    And that Hummingbird.......a flying jewel.

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  2. Beautiful! I've never seen an Imperial Moth. What part of the country are they in?

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  3. Diana, I read they are East to the Rockies and Mexico to Canada! But this is the very first one Ive ever seen!!

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  4. Great pictures. The moth is quite beautiful. I've never seen one like that.

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