The Cecropia and the Luna: Day 4
Posted by Mary in 
Giant silk moths are beautiful and impressive. They are also short-lived and fragile. Cedric emerged only a few days ago and unfurled his wings without a hitch, but I am already watching him begin to fade. This morning I found he had managed to tear his wingtips overnight. It’s mostly aesthetic damage – he’s demonstrated he can still fly – yet it is an irreversible change that signals a coming end. In the past six months, I have been faced with the shocking permanence of sudden death; it is bittersweet that I know Cedric’s last day is coming, that I can prepare but that I must lose him so soon. I have yet to see how it will change my interaction with the other two moths. Some ideas occur to me already.
In some respects, I learned to be a bit of a documentarian from my dad: I’d rather have a picture or record of something meaningful than not, even if the photo doesn’t turn out very well. It is a way of preserving the past that is honest and tangible. Photos aren’t skewed by time as memories are. Someday I may be as far removed in years from this experience as I am from my own birth right now. This is why I have taken more pictures of Cedric despite his injury and why I have carefully considered how to document the remaining moths. Perhaps my thoughts on the matter will be helpful to others doing this in the future, too.
Immediately after eclosure was the best time for pictures with Cedric. I captured his first moment out and kept snapping pics at intervals throughout the time it took for his wings to expand. He was very still during this process, aside from adjusting his posture now and then, and remained still into the evening. It wasn’t possible to get a full view of his wings until later, though. I also found that getting him to cling to a piece of paper allowed me to gently manipulate him to take photos from different angles. The pictures of us touching are cute, but it worked best when I let Cedric to decide to climb on me at his own pace. (It may go without saying, but never touch moth wings. Human skin scrapes scales off even with light contact.) I may have more to say on the matter after all three moths have come and gone.
Still lovely, even with wing damage.
Oh, the places you’ll sit.
Meanwhile, the luna moth surprised me today by emerging midafternoon! I hadn’t been expecting it for at least another day. Like Cedric, the luna was a little sneak and waited until I was out of the room to make its escape. I came back to find the pupa shell with an obvious hole in it and the moth nowhere in the container. It had climbed over the side and suspended itself from the edge of one of the paper towels I’d lined the box with. Turns out I was right to doubt my assessment of the moth’s sex, though – the luna is a girl! I’ve named her Terry since her male name would’ve been Terrence (in reference to a joke my dad made last year about the moths).
As I found her.
Working on those wings!
She might actually be a fairy.
Her markings aren’t perfectly symmetrical, but she’s no less lovely for it.
I was not expecting a lady and so had no setup on hand to allow her to attract a mate. One was thrown together quickly, though there aren’t any guarantees a boy will come by. The immediate area I live in is fairly developed; I have never seen a wild luna here despite them being native to the state. If she doesn’t mate within a few nights, she’ll lay unfertilized eggs.
It’s difficult to tell since it’s only her first day, but so far Terry has demonstrated a quieter temperament and is less flighty than Cedric. She sat on my hand without fidgeting for a while after her wings were settled. I look forward to the next few days with her and will, of course, take many more pictures. Perhaps the final cecropia will emerge just as she begins to fade.
