MOTHRA!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's huge!

[ahem]

This is the visitor that came to our back door last night:





Whoa. With its wings folded like this, its as big as my hand. When it was flying the wing span was very impressive.

(In other news: Yikes, the bottom of my back door is filthy. The camera doesn't lie.)

[GOPisEvil]

1. Do you live near a nukular power plant? Chemical plant?

:scared:

[ahem]

3. Nope. I guess we just breed 'em big here.

He's actually really cool :)

[Heidi]

2. We have moths that big here. My cat is

scared to death of them. :scared:

[MissHoneychurch]

4. LOL

I just got a funny picture in my head: your cat running aways from a moth ... :rofl: .... sorry ... my cat once ran away from a mouse ...

[ahem]

5. The only time I've seen one this big before was at the Field Museum

in Chicago.

I'm sure my cats would have scattered in fear at this one, as well.

[peekaloo]

6. Yowza! That thing could feast on Laura Bush's wardrobe of

drapes and curtains.

[ahem]

7. Bwahahahaha!

:rofl:

[BigMcLargehuge]

8. Please return the egg...

Mosura ya Mosura
dongan kasakuyan indoo muu
rosuto uiraadoa, hanba hanbamuyan
randa banunradan tounjukanraa
kasaku yaanmu
Mosura ya Mosura
yasashisasae wasure
arehateta
hito no kokoro inorinagara
utai, ai no uta

[ahem]

9. My husband and I started singing the Mothra song at him as soon

as we saw him.

We're geeks :)

[bertha katzenengel]

10. That's Mothra Junior! And s/he's beautiful!!

Took some young friends (ages 12-14) to an Angels' game several years ago. This gem was uttered by the daughter of a dear friend when she saw the moths swirling around the floodlights.

(She had another gem at the same game. A souvenir hawker was yelling, quite near us, without moving for several minutes, "mini-helmets, one dollar! mini-helmets, one dollar!" She finally yelled back at him, "SHUT UP FOR FREE!" People cheered.)

[Hugin]

11. You should park a car next to it so we can get the scale...

Oh, wait! That little white thing down there *is* a
car! Aieeeee!

Run away!

[jackelope72]

12. When the BUG in your picture has RED EYE...

you know that's one damn big bug!

I actually helped a friend of mine catch a huge moth that flew into her apartment while I was visiting her. At first we thought it was a bat, but it was a huge black moth. She eventually trapped it in her bathroom sink by putting a towel over the sink...but it started LIFTING UP THE TOWEL in its attempt to escape, so she got a large box, poked a bunch of holes in it, and we managed to get it contained. She then took it to a neighbor of hers in the same building who was an entomology (sp?) student. I asked her what his reaction was, and she said, "He acted like I'd just given him a full-size nude poster of Teri Hatcher or something."

[ahem]

13. That lifting up the towel part sounds

scary! Yikes!

[Archae]

14. I think it's a Sphynx Moth.

They get really big.

[blindpig]

15. I think so too.

Wings look right, as does the abdomen. Sizewise, I guess it depends upon the size of the Op's hand.

[ahem]

17. I found out that it's the Pink-spotted hawkmoth (Agrius cingulata).

As for being the size of my hand, I should have said fist. But from what I found out today, this is a much larger than usual specimen. It's wingspan is at least an inch and a half larger than the usual upper range.

Although they probably aren't uncommon out here, there haven't been any officially recorded from my county. So once we send the pictures in this will be the first. We're going to take more pictures tonight, with a ruler for scale. As of an hour ago he was still there, just above the door.

[bertha katzenengel]

16. As long as it's not "the death head moth" -

:scared:

[ScreamingMeemie]

18. It just isn't right how big bugs get in Florida....

**shudder**

[ahem]

19. That's true! But I'd rather have a giant moth than a palmetto bug

aka giant roach :scared: :scared: :scared:

[bertha katzenengel]

20. Paula Poundstone on Florida bugs.

There should be a toilet paper shortage in Florida for all the times you have to get a piece of toilet paper, smoonch a bug (that's what she said, "smoonch"), throw it in the toilet. One night during her act someone yelled out "use a brick!" She said, well that would clog your toilet . . . .

[ahem]

24. That's hilarious!

Paula Poundstone was so funny.

I can hardly kill a roach. They just terrify me. Luckily we don't usually get them at my place, but it's Florida and the occasional one makes it in. If I'm alone the only way I can take care of it is to throw a phone book at it. When hubby comes home and sees a phone book on the floor he knows what's happened. It always cracks him up. :P

[ScreamingMeemie]

21. You got me on that one. We had cockroaches so big at one office

I worked at that they would take your coat and hand you a cup of coffee in the morning....bleh. I'll take the moth knocking on your door as well. At least they have enlightened personalities...

...okay, I'll stop it now with the bad jokes.

[ahem]

23. LOL! and eek! I hate roaches!

Probably the only bug that really scares me. I get the full-body shivers just thinking about them.

[Canadian Socialist]

22. Whooo... synchronicity!

I was just trying to explain "Mothra" to a young (and oh so oblivious friend re: the glories of Godzilla) today. I was using Mothra as an example. You know. Like when you're an 18 year old woman with really perky breasts? And you get a lovely butterfly tattoo on said breasts? Well, girl, at 40 that lovely butterfly? Mothra. Just sayin'

[ahem]

25. Aw, using Mothra to teach the young!

:rofl: Watching all those Godzilla movies paid off