Today I was surprised to discover a beautiful moth at the office when I was going out the door. He was attached to the lowest wooden step of the back stoop. I could have stepped on him. He blended in quite well as his color matched the wood stain. I decided to move him to a safer spot so no one else would step on him going up or down the stairs. He allowed me to move him. He climbed up on a piece of paper which I placed near his legs. He briefly opened his wings for me to see the outside. What spectacular colorations were on his wings! There were beautiful yellow eyes on each wing. He was fuzzy and had interesting looking antennae. I wanted to touch him but was afraid that I would either scare or injure him.
When I researched him later, I discovered he was an Emperor Moth. I had never seen one before. They are silk moths. The males have feathery-like antennae and are smaller than the females which can have a wingspan up to 80 mm. They are more commonly found in Great Britain. They emerge in April and May. The females are seen more often at night and the males during the day.
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