“Just Two Weeks” Of Flight...The "Ultimate Sacrifice" For Your Species!

Last evening my wife spotted these two moths, in a tree outside our bedroom window. I grabbed my Canon XA11 and tripod and recorded the event. They are “Giant Silk Moths” (also called "Promethea Moths”) caught in the act of mating. They are both hanging onto a dead leaf. The male is on the left. The females abdomen is larger for she is carrying eggs.
We have seen these moths quite a few times over the years. And also Luna Moths (sometimes dead ones). However this is the first time we have seen two together mating. Moths are mostly nocturnal, which makes it even more special to film them in daylight.

I did a little research on the life cycle of these moths. They hatch from an egg in summer (attached to a leaf or hardwood tree branch) and then (as a caterpillar) eat voraciously while molting several times. They spin a cocoon in fall, where they spend the winter. The next spring they will emerge as a moth. The female will have as many as one hundred eggs. In the adult moth stage, they do not have a mouth so they cannot eat. (“that's cruel”) The female releases pheromones to attract a male from great distances. They will mate, and then the female will lay her eggs. Both moths will die within a couple of weeks. And the eggs will hatch into tiny black caterpillars and continue the life cycle. I have a few other videos and photos of these moths that I forgot about, and will make another video for them. #giantsilkmoth #prometheamoth #butterfly

Soundtrack Credit
"Another Breath"
By Futuremono
From The YouTube Audio Library
My Sincere Thanks To The Composers
And To YouTube

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