A thing like this can turn your day from bad to good...

Yesterday, I saw my first Atlas Moth! The cocoons had been at the museum since I started there, and we hadn’t heard a peep, but finally one emerged! Atlas moths are the largest of their kind with a wingspan of up to 12 inches! Not only did I get to see this huge beauty, but I. got. to. RELEASE it. It was pretty exciting. I taught a crowd of about 200 people about it, while holding it in the palm of my hand. It’s heavy--like a small mouse.

Two cool things I want you to know about this moth:
1. It doesn’t have a mouth. All of its energy must come from the food it ate as a caterpillar.
2. See antennae below:

Moths have hairy antennae. This moth’s antennae have chemoreceptors on them to pick up the scent of the females pheremones floating on the wind. They smell with those things! Neat.

OK, so I’m a dork. So what! I got goose bumps when I got to hold this huge thing and teach people about it.

Then it was Earth Hour yesterday (earthhour.org), so Phil and I played chess in candle light. 

What a delightfully dorky day!