Fishermen are known to buy the newest, fanciest, lures and plugs on the wall, so when I saw a bright green object hanging on a docking line just at the lake's surface yesterday, I didn't give it much of a thought.
When I leaned 'way over to pull it off, I saw that it didn't have any hooks on it—just then realized that it was the biggest, chubbiest caterpillar I'd ever seen!
This
is about the time of year for the Luna Moth to appear. I moved the caterpillar in a more secure place, but probably shouldn't have tried to remove it at all. Grown Luna moths rescued from the water's surface never seem to survive very long.
It is the most spectacular of the Lake Region's moths in color and size, only outdone here by a dull-brown Secropia moth that's even bigger and could be mistaken for a small bird!
(Creepy, even
).
(Luna moth, above).