Moni, Thank you thank you thank you so much. It is delightful to read about the intriguing moth we observed on our recent travels. I appreciate your knowledge, and thank you for your time. MB
Promethea moth, male by: Moni
MB,
It is a Promethea moth and from the coloration it is a male. The male has that dark brown color while the female is more reddish brown with half moon spots on the top side of each wing.
This one looks like it might have just emerged by the coloration and thick body. Beautiful specimen! It takes a while for the moths to move once they have emerged...also they fly only at night. They are so large and fly so awkwardly that even at night they are not smooth fliers. They are attracted to lights which will bring them near a light source and then they will sit there until night time then they move on to find a mate.
These are found east of the Rockies near deciduous forests.
There is one generation per year there in northern Indiana. The larvae feed on leaves of apple, ash, basswood, birch, cherry, lilac, maple, sassafras, sipcebush, sweetgum, tulip-tree, and other trees.
The adults do not feed.
Here are other photos of the moth and its caterpillar - http://bugguide.net/node/view/22990/bgimage
