
© 2012
Back in June, I received a call from a co-worker that began “I hear you like to photograph unusual things…” Now, I’ll admit, I can’t resist an invitation like that. She went on to explain that there is an unusual, colorful moth parked outside the main door to the dorms. After my arrival on the scene, I discovered that she was correct. This moth was parked and wasn’t moving. I was actually able to get close-up photos with the iPhone without scaring the creature away. I did get some interesting pictures but I wasn’t able to get the moth to fully spread his wings. OK, for those that know me, my usual rapport with animals is “we keep our distance from each other and everyone is happy” so I didn’t try too hard. After a spirited discussion at lunch about the little guy, we returned to the scene quite surprised to find the moth still present. This group of onlookers included one of our college Vice Presidents who is very skilled in dealing with animals and was able to get him to fully spread his wings (the moth, not the VP). Later, we tried to determine the species of moth which our science department identified as a “Polyphemus”. If you disagree with the species of moth, or just enjoyed reading about our little caper, please let me know in the comments below.