A male Hercules Moth stopped by the Tuscany Cottage today. You can see where it gets its name – it is huge, this one had about a 20 cm wingspan. But it is a lot smaller than the females that can reach up to 25 cms!
The photo is below. Click to make bigger. The male moths have the long wing tails and larger antenna.
Below is a closeup of the see through sections of the wing. It is presumed that these windows allow light through which, along with the mottled brown, helps with camouflage in the forest.
The Hercules Moth is the largest in Australia, and one of the largest in the world. But the lifespan of the adult insect is very short. Lacking mouth parts, the moth lives only for a couple of weeks. Just long enough for the male moth to sniff out his true love, and the life cycle begins again.