Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - 12

Insect Royalty
The sheer size of the imperial moth isn't the only thing
that makes it unique.
BY NANCY HENDERSON
O
ne morning late last summer, I opened
my bedroom window blinds to discover
what appeared to be a large autumn leaf
Velcroed to the screen. A closer look revealed
an alien of sorts, its buttery
yellow-and-brown wings
frozen in place no matter how
much I studied it, not even when
I measured its dimensions with a
sewing ruler. The odd creature's
torso resembled a stubby cigar
and its wings spanned more
than five inches.
By nightfall, it was still there.
The mystery insect
turned
Although imperials can vary in hue-some sport
more yellow, others more purplish-brown- " that pattern
is pretty distinctive, " Lynch adds. " There's no
other moth that really has that color combination. "
The insect's life cycle is, in
out to be an imperial moth, an
uncommon but widespread species
in the Blue Ridge states.
" They're huge, " says Merrill Lynch, a retired Nature
Conservancy biologist who consults
on moth surveys and other projects
from his home near Boone, North
Carolina. (And yes, that's his real
name.) " They're one of the largest, if
not the largest, moths that we have in
North Carolina or any southern Appalachian
state. "
12 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
It's a very brief time
when they're actually
flying around as
adults. In fact, the
majestic moths only
live a week or two.
some ways, just as intriguing.
Hatched as a caterpillar with a
voracious appetite,
it
feeds on
the leaves of hardwood trees,
particularly sweetgums, pines,
oaks, maples and sassafras,
until cooler fall temperatures
send it underground, where it
forms a cozy chrysalis. In spring
and summer,
the adult moths
emerge.
By August or September,
they've mated and lain eggs for
the next batch of Imperials. " And then they die, "
Lynch says. " It's a very brief time when they're actually
flying around as adults. "
In fact, the majestic moths only live a week or two.
Having eaten their fill as caterpillars and running on
stored energy, they are born with no mouths.
Although the stunningly large caterpillars-they
can grow up to five inches-are equipped with long
hairs on their back, they're harmless, Lynch points

http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM

Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023

Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - 3
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - 4
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - 5
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - 6
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - 7
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - 8
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Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - 71
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - 72
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - 73
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - 74
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2023 - Cover4
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