Last night, Jacob and I were inside the house while Jim was in the backyard monitoring our new Polaris pool vacuum. The sun had set, the pool lights were on, and, as usual, numerous bugs and insects were dive-bombing into the water. At one point, Jim excitedly popped his head in the door and shouted for us to come out to see the "huge bug" that had just landed in our pool. Jacob and I rushed outside, camera in tow, and were not disappointed. The thing looked like a butterfly, but it would occasionally plunge to the bottom of the pool and gracefully swoop around as if it could actually swim. The wingspan of the critter was about 4 inches across and it was almost 6 inches in length. Jacob commented that it looked like "nature gone wrong." It was certainly one of the strangest-looking insects I had ever seen. We watched it for about 20 minutes, then scooped it out of the water with our skimmer. After we went back into the house, I searched the internet in an attempt to find out what this freaky beast might be. I am fairly sure that it was a "Luna Moth," and, not surprisingly, it is one of the largest moths in North America. Kind of creepy that it decided to pay us a visit.
The Luna Moth ignored this rather large beetle. We later read that it does not eat because it doesn't have a mouth! It only lives for 7 days.
We cut back our dead banana tree the other day. Amazingly, new stalks began to shoot up from the center of the old trunks almost immediately.
At least 11 trunks are sprouting new growth - growing at the rate of about an inch per day.
The Luna Moth ignored this rather large beetle. We later read that it does not eat because it doesn't have a mouth! It only lives for 7 days.
We cut back our dead banana tree the other day. Amazingly, new stalks began to shoot up from the center of the old trunks almost immediately.
At least 11 trunks are sprouting new growth - growing at the rate of about an inch per day.
3 comments:
Have you seen a Passion Flower Yet? They grow in Texas and look like they're from Mars. They're so pretty.
At Easter they were talking about your beautiful new picture of the green creature in your pool-I thought they were referring to the lizzard head and I thought they were all sick. Now I see, that's pretty.
I haven't seen a Passion Flower yet. Are they big, or just normal-sized? Maybe I should plant some in my yard.
I think Jake was right about the Luna Moth being "nature gone wrong." An animal designed without a mouth probably isn't destined for great success in this world.
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