This magnificent creature is an Io moth (Automeris io) - I found it dead on my couch one morning, not knowing when or how it had got inside. Its furry body looks like it belongs to a long-haired cat! It has false eyes, and an amazing texture up close.
They feed on many different hardwoods, but not conifers. This specimen would be a male (from the yellow color and the enlarged feathery antennae that help it detect female pheromones). They make his face look kind of fierce
This beauty is another gorgeous native, somewhat compromised by the introduction of a fly to get rid of gypsy moths, according to
Moths of North Carolina:
"In the Northeast, however, this species is declining and becoming more localized in Connecticut and other areas where it once occurred (Wagner, 2012), possibly due to parasitism by a Tachinid fly, Compsilura concinnata, that was widely introduced in the Northeast to control Gypsy Moths and other pest Lepidoptera. This fly represents a serious and pervasive threat for many species of moths and is suspected to be responsible for the marked declines in several Saturniids."
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