When fresh, the colours range from almost white
through lightest tans and browns to a genuine red, and there is a
silvery effect that is lovely on some of the large, baggy ones,
hidden under bridges. Out of doors the moths emerge in middle May
or June, but they are earlier in the heat of a house. They are
the largest of any species, and exquisitely coloured, the shades
being strongest on the upper side of the wings. They differ greatly
in size, most males having an average wing sweep of five inches,
and a female that emerged in my conservatory from a cocoon that
I wintered with particular care had a spread of seven inches,
the widest of which I have heard; six and three quarters is a
large female. The moth, on appearing, seems all head and abdomen,
the wings hanging limp and wet from the shoulders. It at once
creeps around until a place where it can hang with the wings
down is found, and soon there begins a sort of pumping motion of
the body. I imagine this is to start circulation, to exercise
parts, and force blood into the wings.
Pages:
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102