Cecropia Silkmoths live in Minnesota - who knew?

A friend of mine has a somewhat unusual hobby - he raises moths and butterflies. He's been doing this for a number of years and just a few days ago, I got to see one of the most unusual members of his winged progeny. He found the caterpillar in a marsh area near our homes actually - which was a surprise to me since I have never seen a moth or butterfly of this size just flying around here.

What makes this particular moth unusual is not where it was found or even its type, but how long ago he found it. This beautiful creature spent 21 months in the cacoon before it finally emerged. I was very glad I got a chance to see her since she only has a life span of about 2 weeks once she comes out - which she did a couple weeks too early to find a boy moth in this area.

But regardless, she is incredibly beautiful and I hope you like some of these pictures!