Moths Pt.2

It must be my lucky month!

For the second time in a week, a stunning hawkmoth landed almost in my lap. This time almost literally!

This gorgeous moth is a Poplar Hawkmoth. I have no idea if it is a male or a female, as Poplar Hawkmoths are gynandromorphs which mean it could be half male and half female. The red patches on its underwing are a warning sign, as they usually stay hidden in the leaf litter. They are designed to startle anything that may want to eat it.

He/She appeared on the lab floor just as I was getting ready to go home. The process of me rescuing it and taking some photographs of it meant I was late leaving. Well worth it!

The other hawkmoth I rescued got blipped a few days ago, and was Lime Hawkmoth, have a look at the entry. Someone, somewhere liked it, as it suddenly got 400+ views!

I have a couple more pictures on flickr of it.

For those with a fetish about my finger there's this one!

And another one here: Poplar Hawkmoth #2

The original blip and this one form part of the Musical Month Of May Challenge. Jethro Tull sung a very apt song about Moths, which you can see and hear in the Lime Hawkmoth blip linked above.

There is a search matrix featuring all the Musical May blips. Have a look, there a few people taking part.