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May. 10, 2007
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A Moth to Remember
This morning as the girls came into the house they passed a very large moth on the porch post.
You can't tell from this picture but its wing span was about four inches, it had a large fuzzy abdomen and had very fringy antennae. At first we thought it was a butterfly because of the way it was holding its wings while it was still, straight up.
After our internet search though we finally found out it was a moth and you can read more about our Ceanothus silkmoth at Butterflies and Moths of North America. There are some awesome pictures there where you can really see the antennae and color of the moth.
I found this really great website that explains how to tell the difference between a moth and a butterfly.
I was right a butterfly holds its wings upright. The moth stayed on our porch post for over six hours and the girls discovered that if you were close to it, it held its wings upright, but if you were away it kept them open. We don't know if it was just warming itself up or if it had hatched from nearby and was drying its wings.
I love all the variety God has given us in the animals! It was a fun surprise to find this moth and we learned a few things today because of it. It was to amazing to ignore!
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May. 12, 2007
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May. 14, 2007
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May. 15, 2007
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Cool
We usually get distracted with all the frogs and lizards lounging about-- on the wall, door, grill, knobs, windows...they just kinda sit or stick there. I'll have to point out all the moth's next time-- so long as the skeeters aren't attacking too badly.
Have a great weekend!
Marsha