An Australian woman stumbled across a giant moth outside of Brisbane. Pam Taylor shared photos of the large insect on the Amateur Entomology Australia group on Facebook. The pictures showed a huge grey moth clinging to a tree branch. She compared it next to her open palm.
The photo quickly gained a lot of attention from other amateur entomologists. Many recognized the insect as a specimen of Endoxyla Cinerus, or the Giant Wood Moth. Some species could weigh up to 30 grams with a wingspan up to 25 cm. The females are larger than the female. This species is quite common in this part of Australia. But one of this size is still quite rare.
“It’s a bird, it’s a plane….. sorry couldn’t resist. I never imagined we had moths that big in Australia, it’s beautiful,” someone commented.
Later in an update, she showed two of the moths mating after the storm.
“I went to check on him this morning to see if he survived the storm last night…. he definitely kept himself busy!… UPDATE! the largest moth is the female, not the male!!!” Taylor wrote.
The species is also known as ‘storm moths’ or ‘rain moths’. They have no mouth and have a short lifespan after hatching. They rely on the weather to coordinate in order to find a mate.
Source: Oddity Central, News18