There are many advantages to hanging the laundry on the clothesline--it saves energy, the sun has a bleaching effect on white fabric, and your clothes have that "outdoor fresh smell" made famous by fabric softener commercials. The best thing, though, is that the clothesline is a perfect way to meet wildlife. This Luna Moth emerged from its cocoon and chose these drying jeans to climb on and inflate its wings with haemolymph. It stayed there all afternoon, until I moved it to the locust clothesline post--after all, the clothes were dry, and so were its wings. It eventually flew, like a bird, into the cherry tree, and later visited me at the porch light.
4 comments:
Gorgeous as always. I don't think I've ever really noticed that mauve line along the top of the wings.
Great post, a tale of domestic natural history.
The "mauve line" Brett mentioned is one the most visually pleasing aspects of this moth; the color complements the pale green of the wings so nicely.
There's some color variation among individuals, and they are seldom photographed in late afternoon's golden light, as this one was. They often look blueish green, with a dark red anterior wing vein.
WOW!!
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