LUNA MOTH

The world is in such a turmoil these days with a killer flu that laboratories are frantically trying to find a cure and trying various things to relieve suffering.
The whole world is attempting to curtail the spread by asking all to stay in their houses.
There are still many people who are carrying on as usual.

Click on a picture to see larger

I was walking in the front yard that is mostly dirt and weeds covered with leaves.  There is a Turk's Cap bush in front of my bedroom window.
Something caught my eye as not "belonging" there.  It took a few seconds to realize I was seeing a moth still partially covered with chrysalis.
I have been around butterflies and moths for many years and quickly recognized this was not a butterfly.  (The clue: Moths have feathery antenna and butterflies have very fine longer antenna)

To see this lovely miracle open its wings to dry on a chilly March day took my mind off of the world ... I took  several pictures with my iphone. Mostly, just watched the moth shed the chrysalis.
Our neighbors drove in their drive and grandma, mom and grand-daughter were taking groceries from the car.  I yelled that they must come see something they will never see again.  No questions, just plodded through wet leaves and weeds to see what the nutty old neighbor was so excited about.
Trusty smart phone camera handy and more pictures were taken.

The process from chrysalis to moth was seconds to minutes.  An unsuspecting lady was walking her dog and I called her over to see the miracle.
She too, came over and whipped out her smart phone and took a picture.
She was so pleased to see the moth that I am sure she told her family .
The next day I sent her a picture of the two moths.

 DAY 2; Checked moth early in the morning and now, there were two.
The male has more feathery antenna in order to smell the female pheromones.

This process takes hours

The black things are legs.  However, It looks to me that they are both clutching each other with one part of their antenna.

Later in the day, came out to check on them and captured this.

This is the female, (the male is on the ground dead opposite her)
It is difficult to know what you are seeing. The wings are folded at this point, the dark gray line is the top of the wings. the antenna is the small tan thing on the other side of grass. So, she is "trapped" in the grass blade and leaves.  Not wanting to harm her, I moved the leaf from her tail and one sort of on her head...
At the point of moving the blade of grass, she started trembling and in a second took off on a weak, wavering flight of about 3 feet.

The sun was very hot to me, so I grabbed a bucket, turned it upside down and placed where it shaded her.
I left her to rest and the third or fourth time I checked, she hadn't moved.
Later, at dusk went out for one more check and she was gone.
We have a huge Sweet Gum tree (one of the trees they use for placing eggs) about 15 feet away.

I am holding on to the thought that she made it to the tree.

https://www.thespruce.com/the-non-pest-luna-moth-

2656240 (1) This web site tells the information much better than me