Giant wood moth: 'very heavy' insect rarely seen by humans spotted at Australian school

[Judi Lynn]

Mammoth moth which can have 25cm wingspan found by builders working on Queensland primary school



Giant wood moth
A giant wood moth was found at Mount Cotton state school in Queensland by builders. While not uncommon they are rarely seen by humans in Australia. Photograph: Mount Cotton state school/Facebook

Lisa Cox
Wed 5 May 2021 01.38 EDT

1,808
A giant moth with a wingspan measuring up to 25cm has been found at a Queensland school next to a rainforest.

Builders found the giant wood moth, the heaviest moth in the world, while constructing new classrooms at Mount Cotton state school.

Giant wood moths are found along the Queensland and New South Wales coast, according to the Queensland Museum. Females can weigh up to 30 grams and have a wingspan of up to 25cm. Males are half that size.

They have an extremely short life cycle with adults living only a matter of days. They die after mating and laying eggs.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/05/giant-wood-moth-found-queensland-australia-school















A fluffy moth face

[MontanaMama]

1. That's soooo cool.

I must admit it I saw one flying at me, I’d duck.

[TheRealNorth]

2. As a kid, I remember seeing a moth as large as a hummingbird

But that Australian one is huge.

[Warpy]

11. I had a hummingbird moth in my garden in eastern Mass,

It took me a hell of a long time to find out exactly what kind of critter it was. The giveaway was the lack of a beak.

It was a lot of fun to track down in the 70s. The ones in my garden had a fondness for rhododendrons.

[rampartc]

14. i would call those "hawk moths"

one fat hornworm can tear up a tomato vine overnight, but the moths are so nice that i don't mind.

i also get a few luna moths in the summer

[montanacowboy]

3. The Mothman Prophecy

Loved that movie! I was a kid growing up when that bridge went down at Christmas.

[Demovictory9]

4. Eweew

[bahboo]

5. Australia of course...

surprised it doesn't feed on human flesh....

[Ocelot II]

6. Mothra!

[hedda_foil]

7. But it has such cute fluffy yellow face!

Head on it's sorta adorable..

[Rhiannon12866]

8. Yikes, he's big!

When I was a kid, my Dad used to point out the moths that gathered on the outside of the window at night - they were attracted by the light - and tell me that they were aliens, watching us. I knew that my Dad was just teasing, but it wasn't tough to imagine since they did look like they had little faces.

[SCantiGOP]

9. The stuff of nightmares

[Bayard]

10. DA-yamn!

I thought it was a rabbit!

[JohnnyRingo]

12. Can't use a flyswatter on that.

You'd have to go for the .357 magnum.

No wonder they're seldom seen. They know they wouldn't last long milling around a lamp.
I'll have some bad dreams about giant bugs tonight.

[calimary]

13. Oh My Freakin' God!

[Delarage]

15. Trouble with image but reminded me

Last edited Thu May 6, 2021, 09:05 PM - Edit history (1)

[jeffreyi]

16. Wow.

[dickthegrouch]

17. Must be the fastest growing insect on the planet too

“They have an extremely short life cycle with adults living only a matter of days. They die after mating and laying eggs. “

I presume the eggs lay dormant for 9 months or the larvae have a much longer lifespan than the adults. Either way, I’m glad I’m not trying to keep up with clothing those kids.