National Moth Week

National Moth Week is July 22-30, and to celebrate, we’ll have Iowa native moths in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing. The Polyphemus moth, Antheraea polyphemus, is one of our country’s largest and most beautiful silk moths. It is named after Polyphemus, the giant cyclops from Greek mythology who had a single large, round, eye in the middle of his forehead. If you look carefully, you’ll see that the spots on its hind wings do indeed look like eyes.

By Nathan Brockman – Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing Curator