Mothra landed on my front porch!

Okay, it might not be Mothra, but it was definitely a large moth that flew into our front porch the other night. Don said he thought it was a bat at first! The thing was almost three inches long!

Actually, it was a Catalpa (or Catawba here in the South) Sphinx Moth. To give you an idea of how large the Sphinx family of moths are, they are sometimes called Hawk Moths or Hummingbird Moths.

Now, I'm not surprised that we found one of these (although they are rarely seen) because we have two Catalpa trees close to the house. One is in the barn lot and the other is just across the driveway from the house. These are very pretty trees in the Spring with their pale lavender blooms. Catalpa caterpillars can strip a tree of all its leaves, but we haven't had a problem with that (so far). Plus, the caterpillars are excellent fish bait!

I'm glad the Catalpa Sphinx Moth paid us a visit and was gracious enough to let me take a photo. It was an awesome moth and was gone a short while afterwards.

Don't tell though...next Spring I'm going to use its offspring for bait!

Creatures of the night...

I love creatures of the night...the moths and bugs that crowd my porch light! Whenever I see an interesting one I have to snap it's photo and then learn all I can about it.

Above is a Walnut Sphinx Moth perched on a dog food bag. The larvae feed on walnut and hickory trees, both of which we have here on (or near) the farm. In my research I've read that they make a squeaking sound when disturbed. I guess I wasn't disturbing the one above when it sat on my hand because it never made a squeak!

A couple days ago Don came in with another Walnut Sphinx Moth he'd found in the garage. It was much larger than the one pictured, but was the same color. (They come in a variety of colors so it's easiest to identify them by the unique shape of their wings.) After we admired the moth's huge body, bulging black eyes and beautifully marked wings Don took it out and set it free.

I guess old habits never die. When my son was a small child he had a little green lizard. We would leave the porch light on and then catch moths to feed the lizard. Here it is 24 years later and I am still out on the front porch most nights looking at moths! I continue to be amazed at the variety, the color and the beauty of nature's night creatures.