Friday, May 26, 2017

A Little Pink For Freaky Friday...!

Somehow I never figured on the idea of pink bugs. When I think of insects, I tend to think in terms of greens and browns, ya know?

Well, it seems that Mother Nature had other ideas. She threw a few critters with a little more color into the mix, I'm certain just to impress us mere mortals with Her brilliance! It worked!

Elephant Hawk Moth



From caterpillar to fully-fledged moth, this species is a fascinating one. Its name is derived from the appearance of the caterpillar: a slimmer head and thorax than the rest of its body makes the caterpillar look like an elephant trunk.

However, like many moth caterpillars, it has evolved to disguise itself with markings that impersonate a snake, eyes and all, in order to fool potential predators into staying away. It even has a trick to mimic the blinking of an eye; the caterpillars have a growth called an anal horn that can palpitate rapidly to look like a blinking eye.

If the caterpillar can survive and make it to the cocoon stage, it will emerge as one of the prettiest moth species on Earth, and certainly one of the most distinct moths in its native United Kingdom. Unlike many moth species, which are typically gray or brown, the Elephant Hawk Moth is pink and olive-coloured. They are often mistaken for a pink butterfly, but they are nocturnal and have stout, fuzzy bodies, like most moths.

Actually, the pink is somehow very nice looking on this particular moth. I just never had thought of it before. The beauty of the internet (and sites like Listverse), is that the knowledge is out there for all of us to find. All we have to is open our eyes and look in the right places.

Coffee out on the patio this morning. No rain in the forecast until later in the week-end.

12 comments:

  1. How interesting! With Mother Nature you never know, do you. Coffee outside sounds lovely.

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  2. Hey Momlady...
    She seems to always have a surprise for us!
    Thanks so much for stopping by this morning!

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  3. The pink is a pretty shade but the bug is still a bug. Interesting though like the pink lake.Plenty to think about in Mother Nature for sure. Thanks,Bubba. Love you.

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  4. Hey Sis...
    Yeah, color isn't everything. Like you say, a bug is still a bug.
    Thanks for coming over so early and come visit when you can!

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  5. That is a gorgeous moth. I've never seen one with such color. Have a great weekend. Hoping we get a couple on non-rainy days this weekend.

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  6. Hey Linda...
    Very unusual, isn't it? I never knew they came in that color.
    Thanks for the visit today!

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  7. Pretty little thing. Yes Mother Nature always has some wonderful surprises for us and some not so nice.

    Going to have the high winds again today and about 94. Can't stay to long taking a friend to the eye Dr. glad it's early before the wind really kicks in.

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  8. I guess it forgot all about camouflage, or does it just live on or near pink flowers?

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  9. Hey Jo...
    I'll take the nice ones and leave the others alone, I think. Yah, I have to run down to V.A. again this morning. Might be some problems that I want to catch early if I can. Hopefully they won't make me stay overnight or anything!
    Thanks, sweetie, for dropping in today!

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  10. Hey Dizzy...
    Since they are mostly active at night, I guess they don't need as much camouflage as the butterflies.
    Thanks for the visit this morning, sir!

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  11. At night we get big green lunar moths swirling around the porch lights. My cats light to leap up and try to pull them down. Never have seen one of these pink ones, but it's sure beautiful.

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  12. Hey Harry...
    I've never seen one of the pink ones either. It is nice to look at!
    Thank you for stopping by today!

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