She waits until the first real occurrence of hot weather and humidity, like these recent sizzling and juicy days, to emerge from her cocoon. Then, she does, unfolding and stretching her wingspan of over five inches. She is the fully evolved, adult cecropia moth, the largest of the North American moths, of the family Saturniidae.
She will only fly at night. She will not live long, because she cannot eat. Her purpose at this stage of her life, is to mate and lay eggs. And, so, after emerging, and reveling in herself, a bit, under the hot summer moon, she releases a pheromone, her scent, out into the night.
And, somewhere, beneath the glinting stars, a male senses her scent with his delicate antennae. His attraction to her is so strong, he can find her from a distance of a mile away, and he flies to her through the darkness, and many dangers, so that they may become a mated pair.
Then, they remain together throughout the following day, entangled in bliss.
Except, maybe, for the times when the damn humans come sneaking in for voyeuristic peeks and a photo, or two.
I cannot express to you enough the benefits of keeping your landscape a little wild. It isn’t always easy, and it is often misunderstood, but, it is an honor to allow our property to be so feral. Oh, we shape it a bit, and make some decisions for it, based on our needs, and the needs of others, like the cecropia moth, but, mostly, it grows what it does, and we keep it totally organic and chemical free. The least I can do is keep the environment as natural as possible. But, we also provide houses for birds, butterflies, and wood ducks, and we offer a variety of foods, aside from what we grow. And, because of all that, the rewards come daily and seem endless. And, I’m not just talking about moth porn.