Last week I found this huge moth attached to my back screen door. It was several inches across and a beautiful fluorescent green. It’s a luna moth (luna actius) and quite common in deciduous wooded areas of north America. I had never seen one before. And by morning it was gone.
Last Monday – in the orientation for new faculty – we had the chance to think about the life cycle
of the monarch butterfly. The parallels with the transformation of aspects of PDS are inescapable. As I write, the construction project – while on schedule – is still in process and the building is being readied for opening day. Like the life cycle of moths and butterflies there are a number of less appealing stages along the way of growth and transformation. Although – who are we to say this caterpillar is a just a gooey unappealing mess?
Last year I also saw a lunar moth on my screen door late at night. I had never seen one before and didn’t know what it was. Some online research enlightened me. In the morning it was still there, and we managed to build a transport device so that my son could take it to PDS that day and share with his class. They only live for about a week. Fascinating creatures!