What WAS that crazy chick doing?

[phoenix64]

While walking home after work today I saw this huge and very pretty brown and white moth right smack in the middle of the sidewalk. I mean HUGE - I'm not sure I've ever seen one so large in real life before. Had I encountered it in some other fashion, say, if it was flying straight at me, my reaction would likely have been along the lines of OMG BIG CREEPY BUG AAAH! But seeing it on the ground like that in possible danger was something else entirely. Heck, two years ago I spent a very rainy summer rescuing an absurdly large number of worms and slugs from the parking lot at work. Anyway, after I ascertained that the moth wasn't dead I attempted to gently nudge it from the middle of the sidewalk and a likely squishing, and after that didn't work I pulled out a card from my wallet and picked it up and deposited it on the adjoining lawn.

It probably was so sluggish because it wasn't in the best shape, but at least I saved it from OMG I JUST STEPPED ON THIS HUGE FREAKING BUG! And because I can never resist that kind of opportunity, the card I pulled out from my wallet to pick up the moth with was the card for the 24-hour pet emergency clinic.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_medley_/]

I do not rescue slugs. I have been known to rescue the occasional earthworm. Yay, you for keeping the moth from getting squished, though! I saw a really gorgeous giant green one once. Luna moth, maybe? On the side of our house.

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

Did it look like this? (icon) Luna moths are so prettty!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_medley_/]

Yes! Yes it did. I love that icon!

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow! What a memorable rescue. The moth sounds really neat, I wish I knew more about them.

the card I pulled out from my wallet to pick up the moth with was the card for the 24-hour pet emergency clinic.

Heh. Perfect.

[phoenix64.livejournal.com]

It is one of those times I'm sorry I don't carry a camera, because it was pretty spectacular if for no other reason than we just don't see those kind of big moths here very often. One of the, uh, "benefits" of global warming has been seeing all the new species that now find it warm enough here.

I have to admit I'm going "eww" a little just looking at Google Images trying to find a similar moth. The closest I've found in size and coloring is the white-lined sphinx moth (http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/03/30/white-lined-sphinx-moths/), though I remember mine as having the lines not so even and the legs not so large. They seem to usually be found much further south, though I did find one on a Flickr account that was in Washington state.

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

Oh, cool! Those sphynx/bumblebee/hummingbird type moths with the fat furry bodies are so cool. They way they fly! And the pictures on the page you linked are amazing. The moths are so quick, they're notoriously hard to catch on film. (...or digital image...)

One of the, uh, "benefits" of global warming has been seeing all the new species that now find it warm enough here.

Ah, I've been reading about that, and it's come up several times in the BBC animal migrations program I listen to. Neat for animal watchers, but distinctly uncomfortable in a general sense, huh?