Judith
Sounds like you saw a mating pair. If the yellow one was left then it is the male so hopefully the female was out laying eggs in the woods on a tree of choice and did not get to be a meal for the birds.
I have also seen cats eat the bodies of these big moths.
These moths are attracted to lights and then when the sun comes up they will stay in place until night again and fly away.
Thanks for taking care to keep it away from the leaf blower....Glad you got to see them!!
Two in Richmond,Tx. by: Judith
Two of these were on my door frame of my apartment. I didn't bother them. The next morning there was only one I moved him to a plant on my terrace. The grounds staff would have blown him away with a leaf blower. I think a bird may have spotted his bright yellow body and ate him leaving behind half of his wings. I guess it,s nature, but they were really beautiful.
Imperial male moth by: Moni
Angela
Your photo is of an Imperial moth. The more yellow color tells me it is a male, the females have more brown markings. This is one of the giant silk moths in the family Saturniidae. Being so large they do fly rather awkwardly.
The adults come to lights at night. They do not feed.
Larva come in a green or brown coloration. According to Bugguide, larvae feed on leaves of Bald Cypress, basswood, birch, cedar, elm, hickory, Honeylocust, maple, oak, pine, Sassafras, Sweetgum, sycamore, and walnut.
The larva pupate in burrows in the soil. The pupa stage is what overwinters, so the adult comes out in summer.
In Newark you probably only have one generation per year.
They are beautiful moths.
