A beautiful Ceanothus Silk Moth, Hyalophora euryalus, landed on the steps in front of the office at Oakland Feather River Camp this morning. By the time this moth is so tame it will rest on one's hand, or hat, it is pretty much at the end of its short adult life. It has dined and mated. Named for the Ceanothus, a genus that includes Buck Brush and Deer Brush in the Quincy area, it will feed and breed on several other common plant species in the area including Manzanita. In the redwood country of the California coast, it likes the Ceanothus species locally named Whitethorn, California Lilac, and Blue Ceanothus, among others, and is itself usually called the Redwood Moth.This gentleman was considering a self-portrait, but that might have required him to be a pretzel, so I obliged with my camera. The moth stayed on his hat for quite a while and the pair were followed around by groups of admiring and curious kids.
Actually, that moth is not at the end of its adult phase, but rather at the beginning. It was newly hatched from its cocoon inside one of the buildings, so I gave it a lift outside while it pumped up its wings. It finally flew away after about a 1/2-hour or so. That gentleman is me, you see, Ilo Kratins.
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