Moth time
Spread your wings and... mate. :P
My camera's batteries went dead after the first few photo attempts, so I went and grabbed my sister's camera, but alas, the moth had already finished spreading her wings when I returned.
The only photo from my camera for this post: two females. The one on the left is still spreading her wings. The exit hole on the cocoon next to her is still wet with the clear liquid she spit out to soften the silk so that she could break through. The one on the right is already "calling" the males (secreting a pheromone into the air out of that little apparatus protruding from her bum).
The girl on the left from the first photo with fully spread wings (yes, my sister's camera is much better with closeups):
A close look. She lost the fur from the tiny bald spots on her back while she struggled to get out of the cocoon.
In the meantime, her sister had already acquired a mate.
Beginning to call: get those pheromone glands out, 1, 2, 3!
The male wasted no time. Still a blur of motion:
Settled down (the female is on the left):
My camera's batteries went dead after the first few photo attempts, so I went and grabbed my sister's camera, but alas, the moth had already finished spreading her wings when I returned.
The only photo from my camera for this post: two females. The one on the left is still spreading her wings. The exit hole on the cocoon next to her is still wet with the clear liquid she spit out to soften the silk so that she could break through. The one on the right is already "calling" the males (secreting a pheromone into the air out of that little apparatus protruding from her bum).
The girl on the left from the first photo with fully spread wings (yes, my sister's camera is much better with closeups):
A close look. She lost the fur from the tiny bald spots on her back while she struggled to get out of the cocoon.
In the meantime, her sister had already acquired a mate.
Beginning to call: get those pheromone glands out, 1, 2, 3!
The male wasted no time. Still a blur of motion:
Settled down (the female is on the left):
