Originally published at: The World's largest moth found in U.S. | Boing Boing
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I was really ok with Japan holding that distinction.
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If this was found in Britain, it would be “moths”.
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having moths maths in our A levels, are we?
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Year 1 Moths
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So when this story initially dropped, the presence of said moth was due to a smuggler selling larva or cocoons on the black market
probably smuggled in by a craft beer enthusiast.
I’m willing to bet it doesn’t just nibble your sweater; it eats the whole thing.
I’m assuming this was intended as a humorous comment. Clothes moths are a very specialised variety. Other moths are not interested in your sweaters.
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Needs more audio… 
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Look at the top corner of the atlas moth’s wings. It looks like two snake heads (in profile). There are indications that it would be mimicry to throw off visual predators, such as birds and lizards. Natural selection is fascinating.
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I was living in Singapore around 2014 when there was a population explosion of giant swallow tail moths. They were everywhere.
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monarchs used to be so common they were considered boring—they were like the sparrows of the butterfly world
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Monarch butterflies are now an endangered species
Eastern Monarch Butterflies at Risk of Extinction Unless Numbers Increase | U.S. Geological Survey
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Sort of like the “magnificent standard” Thulsa Doom rocked in Conan the Barbarian:
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such a beautiful moth!
I dedicated to this species an illustrated book, if anyone is interested: Tarot of the Moth
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Poor moth will only live for a few days, due to the reduced ability to eat, and is looking for a mate (according to Wikipedia).
What a vast, vastly gorgeous moth.
Saw one almost as big in Jamaica; s/he had come into our place at Portside in Discovery Bay. S/he was on a wall above a bright lamp, and all five of us gawked for a while before chasing her/him back outside.
Our next door neighbor and I were out front chatting last month, standing near our gingko tree. We’d been there quite a while before I noticed the mating pair of cecropias on the branch nearest us!
Wikipedja says their host plants are mainly birch, cherry, and maple, but they will occasionally nom others. The three cecropia sightings I recall took place near a birch, a gigantic mulberry, and there is a maple quite near our gingko.
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Yep. Once this one has sucked out your juicy centre, it will discard the sweater. Ooo.
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