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DwellerInDale
Nargothrond
Mar 2 2013, 4:21pm
Post #1 of 20
(2388 views)
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Antheraea frithi: my Gandalf moment
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People have speculated on the species of Radagast's thrush, so I thought this anecdote would be appropriate. Tonight
on returning home from work, a security guard, knowing my interest in Lepidoptera, gave us a huge, beautiful
moth that he said was unable to fly- perhaps I wanted it for a collection. Since it was in perfect condition, I thought
it best to wait a bit; it might have just hatched and not yet be ready to fly. We left it in the car and went to dinner.
As we arrived back home he did indeed begin to fly, so I took him out, held him in my hand, and let him fly away
into the night. His species name is Antheraea frithi, and he looks just like Gandalf's moth in The Hobbit. I made a
composite photo:
Link
so have a look and judge for yourself.
No eagles have shown up as yet...
Don't mess with my favorite female elf.
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GloryBox
Nevrast
Mar 2 2013, 6:34pm
Post #2 of 20
(2030 views)
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Thank you for letting him recover and go on his way!
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In whatever universe I'll bet Gandalf, Sir Ian, and JRRT too would be so pleased! What a beautiful species!
...one morning long ago in the quiet of the world, when there was less noise and more green... The Hobbit
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SirDennisC
Gondolin
Mar 2 2013, 6:40pm
Post #3 of 20
(2029 views)
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Do let us know if you spot any eagles 
Years ago, (before LOTR films), I would stop and pick up Monarchs who had taken a bump flying across the highway. I'd put them on the passenger seat to let them rest.
Sometimes they would recover after a while and begin flying around until I let them go (away from the road)... sometimes they would just pass quietly. Beautiful creatures.
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DanielLB
Elvenhome
Mar 2 2013, 6:45pm
Post #4 of 20
(2042 views)
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You'll wish you hadn't let him go ...
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If you ever find yourself up a pine tree, surrounded by wargs!
What a lovely species though - they look very similar. Is there anyway of telling between sexes?
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Brethil
Gondolin
Mar 2 2013, 7:29pm
Post #5 of 20
(2002 views)
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Thanks for the pictures and the name! Way to build up your Moth Karma!
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Ham_Sammy
Dor-Lomin
Mar 2 2013, 8:40pm
Post #6 of 20
(1985 views)
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Thanks for taking that and sharing. That is awesome!
Thank you for your questions, now sod off and go do something useful -- Martin Freeman, Twitter t 3/1/13
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Riven Delve
Dor-Lomin
Mar 2 2013, 9:46pm
Post #7 of 20
(1969 views)
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for sharing your Middle-earth moment--and the picture--with us!
"I left the night, with its remote and singing stars, and came in, to the glow of the fire, and the chair where he had been sitting, and the unstrung harp." --The Last Enchantment
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Aragalen the Green
Mithlond
Mar 2 2013, 11:37pm
Post #8 of 20
(1951 views)
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And wonderful that the same kind of moth lives where you do!
'"Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!" he said to himself, and it became a favourite saying of his later, and passed into a proverb.'
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Glaurung63
Menegroth
Mar 3 2013, 12:38am
Post #9 of 20
(1944 views)
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At my friends cabin we hung a sheet with a light on it at night and tried to identify the hundred moths that landed on it!!
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NottaSackville
Doriath
Mar 3 2013, 3:46am
Post #10 of 20
(1933 views)
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Or when the eagles swoop down and grab you tomorrow without warning. //
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 Happiness: money matters, but less than we think and not in the way that we think. Family is important and so are friends, while envy is toxic -- and so is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude. - The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner as summarized by Lily Fairbairn. And a bit of the Hobbit reading thrown in never hurts. - NottaSackville
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RhodeCamelot
Lindon
Mar 3 2013, 6:14am
Post #12 of 20
(1932 views)
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In general i really like how so much effort's been put in to the zoological accuracy (idk what to call it?) of the inhabitants of middle-earth; even the CGI creature-characters (aka most of them) look so real 'cause (a) Weta is awesome and the designers are geniuses (b) they look almost if not exactly like a species of animal/plant that exists/has existed.
(PS: dayum, if the eagles don't show up after 5 minutes then i suppose they never will and you'll have to book a flight on AirNZ on yer own....they're a great airline though!)
#dftba
Excuse me, sorry to interrupt but what should i do with my plate?
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elaen32
Mithlond
Mar 3 2013, 8:48am
Post #13 of 20
(1920 views)
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That one is beautiful too Gramma!
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Do you know which type of moth it is? I always am astounded at the intricacy and detail of the design on moths and butterflies in particular. If a human submitted a "design" for a fictional moth with anything like this degree of detail, it would probably be dismissed as being "over the top" or "unrealistic", but Nature is even more so!
"Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves the dreams of trees unfold"
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DwellerInDale
Nargothrond
Mar 3 2013, 9:43am
Post #14 of 20
(1962 views)
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That one is the Cecropia moth, Samia cecropia, the largest silk moth in North America. The moth I posted
is in the same family, Saturniidae, the silk moths. And yours is a "he" as well; you can tell it's a male by the
large feathery antennae. Nice picture!
Don't mess with my favorite female elf.
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DwellerInDale
Nargothrond
Mar 3 2013, 3:57pm
Post #17 of 20
(1928 views)
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Haha guys, that'll never happen, in fact I..
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..wait.. what's that noise?? AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!
Don't mess with my favorite female elf.
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Eowyn of Penns Woods
Doriath
Mar 4 2013, 1:00am
Post #18 of 20
(1888 views)
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and stumble across a cocoon like I did about two years ago! I didn't degum and spin it up yet, though. I lost the only other one I'd found.
**********************************
NABOUF
Not a TORns*b!
Certified Curmudgeon
Knitting Knerd
NARF: NWtS Chapter Member since June 17,2011
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NottaSackville
Doriath
Mar 4 2013, 1:34pm
Post #19 of 20
(1878 views)
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We lose more good posters this way. //
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Happiness: money matters, but less than we think and not in the way that we think. Family is important and so are friends, while envy is toxic -- and so is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude. - The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner as summarized by Lily Fairbairn. And a bit of the Hobbit reading thrown in never hurts. - NottaSackville
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Loresilme
Doriath
Mar 4 2013, 1:44pm
Post #20 of 20
(1951 views)
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I've always felt that if we lived in a world where butterflies and moths had never existed, and an author wrote a sci-fi book about a world that had them, and tried to describe them, that no one would believe they could ever possibly exist. They'd say it wasn't physically possible.
Really ... wings that are thinner than paper, dusted with powder in patterns and colors?
Not to mention, the whole metamorphosis thing.
Surely they are a figment of someone's imagination  .
So, who knows DiD, perhaps those giant eagles are out there too .
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