Wednesday, August 3, 2011

A Rosy Surprise in My Garden

While walking around the garden Sunday afternoon, I glanced down to see this yellow creature with pink legs (and what looked like pink ears and a cute little face) crawling along the ground.


Having no idea what I was looking at, I picked up a stick and held it close to the critter--hoping it would grab hold so I could pick it up and get a better look. When it began crawling up the stick, I called for my son to come out and hold the stick so I could snap a few photos.



After taking a few shots, I set it down in an empty birdbath which was lying on the deck. I ran inside and began to upload the photos, simultaneously doing a Google search for 'pink and yellow caterpillar'.  I'm pretty sure at some point I put in terms like 'with ears', as well!


I was inside for less than five minutes--but when I went back out, this little creature looked nothing like when I left her minutes earlier:


She had attached herself to the side of the birdbath, and those little 'ears' were actually wings! She was a moth. A Rosy Maple Moth, to be exact. It all started to make sense when I looked up and realized I had found her underneath a Maple tree!


I began to realize that she must have recently emerged from her cocoon and, having fallen to the ground, had been in the process of trying to find a place to attach and pump up her wings. I just happened to intercept her as the process was happening.


A few articles I read mentioned this moth could be destructive to trees, but I simply ignored that information and instead, remained in awe by the lemon and raspberry sherbet that looked more sweet than sinister.  I placed her back in the garden, where she attached herself to a Hellebore stem:


She remained there as nightfall came and I went to bed. When I checked for her the next morning, she had flown. I hope Rosy has a good life. I feel blessed to have seen part of the process of changing from 'fat cat' to beautiful moth. It's funny how you can live in a place for 15 years and still find something new, nearly every day. You just never know what surprises await you on any given day!
  

Words and photos ©Thanks for today.™, by Jan Huston Doble @ http://www.thanksfor2day.blogspot.com/
Not to be reproduced or re-blogged without express permission of the author.

44 comments:

  1. What a miracle! I'm so glad you were able to get photos to share. They are amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an interesting moth and great post. She definitely was pretty. Too bad she's destructive.

    FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing Jan. What a treat to see it unfold its wings. I never saw a pink and white moth either. It is so beautiful isn't it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Who cares if she eats a few maple leaves - if she looks so gorgeous!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've never seen one before and here you captured her coming out and getting her wings. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow one of God's amazing creations!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Isn't that amazing to have discovered something new and beautiful? I think I have seen them around in full wings, but I don't think I have seen them in that first stage. Great shots!

    ReplyDelete
  8. How wonderful that you were able to catch the metamorphosis. She is a pretty moth, albeit a destructive one.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I can't believe you got all those shots!!! That's really quite a beautiful moth. Love the catepillar!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow, to be there for that transformation is wonderful. Amazing photos!

    ReplyDelete
  11. How amazing to have witnessed and captured that!!!! Great shots!

    ReplyDelete
  12. That is so interesting! Thanks. Carol

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jan, Thanks so much for sharing Rosy's transformation with us. -Jean

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful little creature in all stages. This was a great post to share.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a lovely post, Jan. I'm equally fascinated by this little jewel of a creature. I hope it has a happy life.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What an amazing little creature. You're so lucky to have captured these pictures. I hope Rosy had a good life. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Just found your blog and wanted to say how breathtaking these images are! I have never seen such a pretty and fascinating moth... don't blame you for ignoring the destructive bit. It looks like a creature that was designed for fairyland, to pull a tiny golden carriage through the toadstools! Thanks for sharing this loveliness. Jane Gray

    ReplyDelete
  18. You can literally watch this process...it's amazing! We find these from time to time too.

    ReplyDelete
  19. That is amazing - to be part of something so magical is truly a gift. And what a beautiful little creature. The colours are wonderful, I've never seen anything like that before.

    ReplyDelete
  20. What incredible photos. I have never seen an insect those candy colours. Amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Such wonderful timing that you found her just as she was unfurling. She's beautiful, I've never seen a rosy maple moth before.

    ReplyDelete
  22. what a truly wonderful capture stunningly beautiful <|;-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. What amazing timing to catch the transformation process as it was happening. Never a dull moment, is there! We need to carry our cameras every minute, don't we?! Never know what miracles of creation are awaiting!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. How very very cool. New miracles every day.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wow! Talk about being in the right time, at the right place. what an amazing series of photos. I've never heard of this moth, but she's certainly beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I literally said "Oh my gosh" when I scrolled down to the moth part. I couldn't figure out what it was at first, either. Very nifty! This is a great post. You really were at the right place at the right time, and good thing you captured those first photos and bothered to go back out and take more! Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  27. What a beauty! I don't think I've ever seen a moth like that before although I have seen pale yellow insects. Lucky you to have captured such a magical process. :o)

    ReplyDelete
  28. What incredible things we can see if we just pay attention. Fabulous photography, and how wonderful to be one of those people who sees the world around them that most simply ignore!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Beautiful photographs! Nature in all her glory shown so nbeautifully ...

    ReplyDelete
  30. Jan, that is a really marvelous post, and you wove it even more beautiful. A real 'thanks for today' post. The moth is naturally lovely too!

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a miracle! Remarkable! Such an incredibly beautiful moth - I've never seen her equal. I'm .... without speech... Good job, Jan!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Dear Jan, Rosie made my day! I love this post. Thanks. P. x

    ReplyDelete
  33. Stunning photos!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Oh wow, what an incredible moment you got! I found your blog via Takaeko's, and it is just fabulous! I am having the most wonderful read, your butterflies are gorgeous :)

    ReplyDelete
  35. I was also beginning to think.... "What in the world," when (with your next set of photos) it all made sense! Can't you feel so privileged to have been in the right place at the right time? And witnessed yet another of God's Miracles?? :-) Thanks for sharing with the rest of us!

    ReplyDelete
  36. I must admit when I saw the first photo I thought it looked like a little toy, sort of alien but cute. Amazing that you caught this happening and how lovely she is.

    ReplyDelete
  37. That is awesome! Great pictures of the cute little moth... Something new around every corner I say...

    ReplyDelete
  38. Wow! Amazingly beautiful. thanks for sharing those photos on how it transform beautifully.

    Cassy from Beginner Free Guitar Lessons

    ReplyDelete
  39. Jan, that's an amazing sighting! How lucky your were to witness the transformation of that pretty little moth. You got some great photos. Thanks for sharing your exciting discovery :)
    Nature is marvelous....the miracles she shows us!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Each day is a miracle! It's the first time that I'm seeing a rosy maple moth. And, yes, she is pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  41. That's so cool you were able to watch the whole caterpillar-to-moth process! This makes me want to go outside and hunt for caterpillars... well, maybe after the hurricane passes through.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I could hardly stop looking at your Rosy photos. Amazing.

    How could something so pretty ever be destructive?

    donna

    ReplyDelete
  43. Never seen a moth at that stage. I can understand how blessed you feel at such a sighting. I feel the same way too. Wonderful photos. To think that's how they look when they emerge!! Wow!

    Kanak

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for visiting and taking the time to comment! Please enjoy your TODAY and all of the gifts in YOUR garden of life!

Jan

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Post Topics

17 year Cicadas...Enough Already! 2011 Official Post 2012 4th of July collage 5-lined skink A Certain Kind of Light A Cozy Fire A Dusting of Snow A Family Meal A Hawkish Tale A Little Bit of Winter A Visit From Miss Glad on Blooming Friday A Visit With The Queen A Warm Cup of Tea Acorns African Violets African Violets:Kitty Style Agastache Allium Am I too late for GBBD Amaryllis Amazing Zinnias American Beautyberry American Hazelnut American Lady American Robin Anemone Anenome Anglewings Anise Hyssop Another Birthday aphids April 2010 April blooms Arbor Day Are Words Really Necessary? Artemesia Asarum Asclepias Asiatic lilies Aster Aster Yellows Audubon-at-Home August 2009 GBBD August 2013 Autumn Autumn Reflections Awards Awesome Azaleas Azalea on Ice;Picture This Photo Contest;Winter's Beauty Azaleas Azealea Back Yard Backyard Bird Series backyard birds Backyard Makeover Bald Eagles Balloon Flower Bee Collage Bee-Balm Bees Bees Busily Buzzing on Blooms Before and After Being Settled berries Big Eyes Bird Collage Bird Conversations Bird Itch Birdfeeding Birds Birds Before Blooms Birthday Books Black Swallowtail Black Swallowtail Butterflies Black Swallowtail butterfly cats Blackeyed Susan Bleeding Heart Blog Anniversary Blogger blogging blogging friends Blogiversary Blooming Friday Blotanical Blotanical awards Blotanical's 2009 Best Virginia Award Blue Blooms Bluebeard Bluebird Bluebird Fledglings Bluebird in Snow Botanical Interests Boulder Bouquet of the Month:April 2010 Bouquet of the Month:March 2010 Bright Flowers broad-winged damselfly Brown Creeper Brunnera Buddleia Bugbane Bulbs BulbsSproutinginPot Bumblebees Butterflies BUTTERFLIES LIVE Butterfly on Salvia Butterfly weed Calorie-Free Candy Camera-less in April Can You Guess What This Is? Can You Please Identify Me Can't Get Enough Cosmos Cancer Experience Cardinal Cardinal (Female) Cardinal (Male) Cardinal Flower Carolina Wren Carolyn's Shade Gardens Carpenter Bees Carpet Rose Caryopteris Caryopteris x clandonensis Catmint Cedar Waxwing CedarWaxwing celandine poppy Celebrate Your Freedom Cercis canadensis Certified Wildlife Sanctuary Chelone Cherry Blossoms Chickadee Chris McLaughlin Christmas Fern Christmas Rose Chrysanthemum Cicada's Ahead of Schedule Cicada's May 2009 Cicadas May 2013 Cinquefoil Clematis CobraHead Collage Collages Columbine Common Buckeye Common Whitetail dragonfly Composter Coneflower Containers Cooper's Hawk Coral Red Honeysuckle Coreopsis Corona Corydalis Cosmos Covered Hellebore Plants Cozy and Warm Cranberrybush Vibernum Crepe Myrtle Crested Iris Crocus Crocus 'Romance' Crow Cut Flowers From My Garden Cutleaved Coneflower Daffodil Daffodils dainty blue flowers Dayflower Daylilies December 2010 December Birds Deer Poop Desert Island Plant Challenge Desperate for Color on Bloom Day Devastation in the Garden Devotion Dicentra Digitalis purpurea Does This Outfit Make Me Look Fat? Dogs Dragonflies Dragonfly or Damselfly Dried Blooms ducklings Dutchman's Breeches Dwarf Nandina Dwarf Sumac e-Bird e.e.cummings e.e.cummings:i thank You God for most this amazing Earth Day Eastern Bluebird Eastern Comma butterfly Eastern Redbud Eastern Tiger Swallowtail eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly Ebony Jewelwing Echinacea Elderberry Emily Dickinson End of the Line Epimedium Euphorbia Evening Primrose facebook Faith Fall Color Project Feasting on Seeds Feb 2010 GBBD Feb 2010 monster storm Feeling Blue Feeling Blue? Finch Fire Pink First Day of April First Snow First Snowfall Project Fiskars Flame Azalea Flat Tire Basket Flick'r photo large sizes Floral Collages Focal Black and White photo Foliage-Followup Forsythia Fourth of July Foxglove Foxy in November Free Will Friends Fritillaria Frozen Blooms Galanthus Garden Garden Blessings Garden Blogger Bloom Day:November 2008 Garden Blogger Muse Day November 2009 Garden Blogger Muse Day:December 2008 Garden Blogger's Bloom Day:January 2009 Garden Bloggers Garden Bloggers Bloom Day Garden Bloggers Muse Day Garden Bloggers Muse Day (April 2009) Garden Bloggers Operation Christmas Child Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day Garden Bloggers' Muse Day: June 2009 Garden Books Garden Give Away Garden Give Aways Garden Give-Aways Garden Product Give Away Gardening Gone Wild photography contest Gardening Nude Gardening-by-Letter project GardenShoesOnline Garter Snake Ingests Toad GBBD Febrary 2009 GBBD July 2009 GBBD June 2010 GBBD March 09 GBBD:December 2008 GBMD May 2009 GBMD:January 2009 Geese in a Row--and Ducks too Giant Hyssop Give-Away Winner Gladiola Gloves Go Native Goblins and Pumpkins and Snakes oh my God in the Garden Golden Groundsel Goldenglow Goldenrod Goldfinch Goodbye March Graham Rice Gramma's Afghan Grapes Grasshopper Grateful Great Backyard Bird Count Great House Plant Census of 2010 Green and Gold Green Cure fungicide Hairy Woodpecker Happy Father's Day Haven Brand Manure Tea Hawk hawks Heated Birdbath Heather Heliopsis Heliotrope Hellebore Hellebore Collage HelleboreHover Hellebores Hellebores Book Give-Away Helleborus Helleborus niger Help Identify Animal Tracks Henry David Thoreau: Hepatica Heron Heuchera High School Orchestra Concert Highbush Blueberry Hip Mountain Mama Holiday Stress Holiday stress: How Much is Self-Imposed Holly Honored and Humbled Hornworms House Finch Hummingbird Clearwing Hyacinth Hyacinths Hylotelephium I Am Truly Thankful! I'm a bit Bee-hind Iberis Ice on Stream Ice Storm Ilex Impatiens Indentifying Butterflies Iris Iris reticulata It's Here Its Grown On Me Jacob's Ladder January 2010 snow January 2011 January 2013 Japanese Anemone Joe Pye Weed John Keats July garden 2010 Junco June 19th 2009 Just Be Gardens Kerria Kerria-Japanese Rose Keter Dynamic Composter Kombi Ladybird Johnson Lake Anna Lake Anna June 2009 Lake Vacation Lamium Lantana Late to the Party Again lavender Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Leyland Cypress Liatris Life Experiences Light Lilac Bush Limestone Liriope Liverwort Lobelia Lonicera sempervirens Luna the Greyhound Lungwort Lyme Disease Lyme Disease has gone to my Head Macro in a Mason Jar Mallard ducks March Birthday Bloggers March GBBD mention master gardener May 2010 May Apple Meaning Memorial Day 2010 Memories Mertensia Mid Summer's Eve Mid-June Blooms MidMarch Blooms and Foliage Milkweed Miniature Dachshund mishmash wednesday Mistflower Mites Monarchs Monarchs and Milkweed Monarda Monkshood Monthly Garden Bouquet Moon More April Bouquets Morning Light Mountain Laurel Mourning Doves MuhlyGrass Mums Muscari Muscle My Cat Smokie My Daughter My Dog James My Family My FIRST Enlarged Photo My Husband My Mother My Son My Yard Mystery Tracks Nandina Nandina berries National Cherry Blossom Festival Native Ginger Native Honeysuckle native plants Natural Habitat Nepata New York Fern Non-Natives Northern Flicker Not The Best Notecards November 2009 GBBD Now that's an 'ice picture Obedient Plant Oct 2008 GBBD Almost Ready Oct 2009 October 2009GBBD Of Gloves and Shovels Oh Say Can You See Okay so who or what is eating my plants Oliver Herford:I Heard a Bird Sing Operation Christmas Child Pain Management Techniques Pansies Pansy paperwhites Pay It Forward Project Pay-It-Forward gift-giving exchange Peanut Feeder Peonies by Mary Oliver Peony Perennials Perennials in my garden Perovskia Personal Poetry Personal Poetry: Petunia Phlox Phlox paniculata photo contest Photography Contests phytoplasma Pieris Pieris Japonica Pileated Woodpecker Pine Siskin Pink Azalea Pink Peony Planting Natives Plants on Ice Poetry Pollinators Polymonium Pond Critters Poppy Potentilla Potomac River Pretty Pink Peony Has Popped Prize Winners Product Reviews Project FeederWatch Pulmonaria Pumpkin Carving Purple Coneflower Purpose Questionmark butterfly radishes Rain Rain Barrel Rainbarrel Rainbow Project Rainy Days Raspberry and Lemon Sherbet Reasons I Garden red admiral Red Winged Blackbird Red-Bellied Woodpecker Red-Spotted Purple Red-winged Blackbird Redbud Relaxing Remember Renee's Garden Revised GBBD February 15 Richmond VA Robert Frost Robin Robin'sNestingPlace Rock Soapwort Rock Solid RockSoapwort Roly-Poly Squirrel Rose hips Roses Roses with Thorns Rosy Maple Moth Rudbeckia Rudbeckia lanciniata Russian Sage S.A.D. Salvia Salvia greggi Samuel Taylor Coleridge:The Nightengale Sanguinaria Scilla Seagulls Seasonal Affective Disorder Security Blanket Sedum Sedum Autumn Joy Seed Planting Experiment Seed Starter System Seed-Planting Experiment#1 Seed-Planting Experiment#2 Seed-Planting Experiment#2 (cont.) Seeds Sense of Humor September blooms September Blooms:A Series of Surprises September Surprises #3 Serviceberry Shades of Blue Shady Gardener:Gladsome Be? sharing Sharp-shinned Hawk Shawna Coronado Shirl's Garden Watch Siberion Buglose Skink Slaty Skimmer dragonfly Snake Snake skin Snow Snow in Spring Snowdrop Anenome Snowdrops Snowstorm Solomon's Seal Sounds of the Birds Speedwell Spicebush Swallowtail Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly cats spicebush swallowtail caterpillar Spider Webs Spiderwort sprained ankle Spring Buds and Bulbs Spring Has Sprung Spurge Squirrel Squirrels stainless steel water bottle Standard Poodle Starling Steam on Fence Strawberries Succulents Summer Flowers SunRays Sunrise Sustainable Living project Swallowtail Butterflies Sweaters Hoods and Coats Sweet Allysum Sweet William Teacup and Teapot Tete-a-Tete Thank You to Phillip Thanksgiving The Best Christmas Gifts The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting The Gardener's Guide to Growing Hellebores The GGW photo contest I 'almost' entered on time The Multi-Hued Greens of Spring The Ocean The Seed Keeper Company The Sun Shines at Night The Thrush This Ain't No April Fools Joke This aMayzing Day Thyme Tiarella Titmouse Toad Lily Tools Toulouse goose Tradescantia Tree Sparrow Trees Trillium Trout Lily Tufted Titmouse Tulips Tulips in Spring Tulips on Thursday Turtle Crossing turtle garden Turtlehead TX-Bluebonnet Umbrella VA Gardener Magazine Valentine's Display variegated foliage Verbena Veronica Vinca Violas Virginia Bluebells Virginia Gardener Magazine Wake Robin Walt Whitman:Miracles Washington DC Water Fountain Water Garden Waterfall/Stream WBBS Wednesday Words Weeping Willow West County Gardener What Are You Waiting For What d'ya think Janet What's Happening? What's New in November White Embden geese White Peony White-Breasted Nuthatch Wild Geranium Wild Ginger Wildflower Wednesday Wildflowers Will the Real Turtle Please Come Out William Wordsworth William Wordsworth:The Daffodil's Willow Leaved Sunflower Window; Death; Personal Photography Winter I Am So Over You Winter is for the Birds Winter Light Winter Solstice winter storm slide-show Winter Walk-Off 2014 Winterberry Witch Hazel Woodfern Woodland Pinkroot Woodpecker WORDLESS Friday Wordless Wednesday: Wren X-Rated Yellow but not Mellow Yesterday and Today Zinnia Zinnia Bud (Plan B)