Sunday, June 24, 2012

a big moth and a book recommendation

So I posted this picture of a Luna Moth on my facebook wall.
 Here is a closer shot where you can see it's hairy neck and weird, feathery antennae.

A couple of people commented that they had never seen one of these.  We get them kind of a lot.  I checked online and it seems they like walnut trees, which we have several of close by, which must be why we have them at our house.

Whenever I see a moth, I think about this book I read called "The Sister" by Poppy Adams.  It's not really about moths, but it has a lot of moth stuff in it that blew my mind.  Like, moths turn into pupal soup and then turn into a moth again.  Did you know that?  I did not and it is something that sticks in my brain like a popcorn kernel that never goes away.

Here is a little snippet I stole found on another blog:
Pupal soup is the liquid, living matter that you will find in the cocoon of a moth during metamorphosis. The caterpillar totally dissolves into liquid DNA and can remain dormant, or even frozen for long periods of time. Eventually this soup coalesces into a new animal and a moth emerges.

WHAT?????  That is the weirdest thing I have ever heard.  

And also, according to Wikipedia , they only live as a moth for one week and they do not eat, therefore they do not have a mouth.  Or maybe it's they don't have a mouth, therefore they don't eat.  Whatever.  

You have to admit, these moths are pretty cool.  However, between The Silence of the Lambs, no mouth, and their freakish size, their creepy factor is pretty high.  



2 comments:

  1. Interesting! We get a lot of them here, too! Shawna

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  2. I think it's really beautiful! Hmmm, gotta wonder what moth soup tastes like...perhaps your next food blog will be moth soup? :P

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