Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Io Moth



On the door to our porch this morning we found an Io moth. They're somewhat common around here - or so I am led to believe, due to the fact that my grandmother, who lives next door, also found one recently. Fortunately, ours, unlike hers, is alive.
Interesting side note: Io was a beautiful princess in Greek myth. Zeus loved her so he turned her into a cow to hide her from Hera.
Jeez, what a show of true affection! Who wouldn't love to be a cow?
I'm not quite certain how the name of Io the cow was put onto a moth, but neither am I sure how the Polyphemus moth got it's name as well - Polyphemus was a cyclops. The Polyphemus moth has two eyes. And also, why does it seem like all large moths are named after Grecian characters?
(Did you know that the Atlas moth has the largest wing area of any moth? And possibly insect? The monstrosity is larger than your two hands put together! Also, it was so named because the patterns on it's wings look like maps, or so they say. But the term Atlas still comes from the Titan, so I know I'm right in my theory.)
(Disregarding Luna moths...but their name is in fact Latin. So there.)

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