Freaky Friday UPDATE!! I Identified the Moth!

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Thanks to Silver Parrot for directing me to What's that Bug? to find out what the heck that ginormous, 5+ inch wide moth was on my front step (she stayed there, btw until at least 1PM, having found a bug feast). It turns out that it is a Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus), a North American member of the Giant Silk Moth family! Holy cow! We actually aren't supposed to get them this far north; they are supposed to come to Southern Ontario at most, but I guess the bugs here are just too tasty to ignore! I found out at Wikipedia.org, that these moths can actually eat "86,000 times its weight at emergence in a little less than two months". Amazing!! I guess they really do need my bugs, and boy, am I happy to let the moths have them!! Apparently they are having problems, as predatory insects, like some wasps and flies, like to eat them in the egg stage. I am certainly glad I got to see this giant beauty (even if I was a little freaked out and thought it might eat me)!
See you soon :)

Freaky Friday - Oh Man, I've got BUGS!

He Looks Kind of Curious, Don't You Think?

While locking my front door before I went to bed last night, I had a peak at all the bugs swarming on the front step and around the lights, as I had heard quite a bit of banging around. I figured it would probably be a bunch of June bugs - you know, brown, big, kind of stupid and clumsy, but oh so cute, banging into my door after being blinded by the lights (lol). I was incredibly surprised, therefore, to find myself staring down at a giant moth. And I mean GIANT! I had only seen them this large at the natural history museum, as, apparently, moths this large aren't supposed to be able to survive in our cooler climate. Apparently they can! I couldn't help but take a few photos, even though opening my front door meant a wave of nasty bugs coming into my house. Here's the moth near my hand for reference:
That was about as close as I wanted to get....it was a bit scary being so close to something so big that could get caught in my hair *shudder*
Then I looked to the left, and found this little guy sitting on my watering can:
He's got something stuck on his head, but he is still pretty neat - look at how knobbly he is! Maybe he is a toad? I don't know, either way, he is pretty cute :)

Well, that is enough grossness for now, tune in Tuesday for a new piece of jewelry for my NeoAmour collection!