Newly Metamorphosed Imperial Moth

Subject: caterpillar or moth?
Location: North Charleston, SC
May 21, 2015 8:14 pm
This strange fellow about fell on my head tonight. I’ve never seen a bug quite like it. It looked like a caterpillar but had wings and was quite large (about 5 inches long). Any idea who this guy was?
Signature: Christy

Newly Metamorphosed Imperial Moth

Dear Christy,
This is a newly eclosed Imperial Moth, and because its wings have not yet fully expanded, it still resembles a caterpillar in form though its metamorphosis is complete.  Once its wings have expanded, it can fly and it will seek out a mate, living only long enough to reproduce.  Adult Imperial Moths do not take food.

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Location: Charleston, South Carolina