MOTHRA!

The mother of all moths was enjoying the light above my apartment door the other night.  Since we live practically in the pine barrens, we sometimes see (and hear) some really unusual critters.  So far, I've seen a luna moth...

 a Rosy Maple moth...

AHHH!

and this guy, the Automeris Io moth.  I carefully trapped him and brought him inside to take some pictures. The cat wanted to kill him the whole time.  He had such a huge furry bottom and furry antennae, which led me to believe it was a male.

I couldn't get quality photos because his wings just wouldn't stay open! Here's a better reference for you.

I'm keeping an eye out for this guy, the Polypemus moth, and when I finally do see this massive bug I hope to have a small photoshoot with the film camera.