New Bedford Buzzes Over Massive Moth, Largest in North America

It’s not every day you spot something straight out of a nature documentary just chilling on a tree in the middle of downtown New Bedford.

Over the weekend, during a gloomy stretch of passing showers, I was walking past Play Arcade at the bottom of Union Street when something caught my eye. At the base of a tree trunk, just above the wet sidewalk, sat one of the most stunning insects I’ve ever seen. It was easily the size of my hand.

At first, I thought it was fake.

READ MORE: Tiverton Woman Finds Alien-Like Creature on Front Porch and the Internet Tells Her to Burn It

As I got closer, I saw it gently fanning its wings and gripping the bark. A quick Google Image search confirmed it was a Cecropia moth, North America's largest native moth.

Let me tell you, it looked like it belonged in a museum. With its reddish-orange body, white striped legs, feathery antennae and wings painted in complimentary reds and blacks with crescent-shaped eye spots, it was impossible to miss.

Pretty soon, others began to stop and stare.

Cameras came out. A few kids pointed in amazement. In a city buzzing with traffic and seagulls, this giant moth managed to steal the show.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, Cecropia moths (Hyalophora cecropia) are part of the giant silk moth family (Saturniidae). They’re not considered endangered in Massachusetts, but they’re rarely seen because they only live for one to two weeks as adults and are mostly active at night.

How or why the mammoth-sized moth ended up by the salty waterfront of New Bedford is beyond me, but seeing one up close, especially in the daylight, was something I won’t soon forget.