Hercules

This morning and afternoon has been filled with numerous computer hassles but I wanted to at least post a photograph of my newest painting subject. I went to The Bone Room in Berkeley on Sunday and perused their extensive insect collection in an effort to find a good specimen of a Hercules moth, one that wasn't already encased in a frame. I want to be able to get a good look at his face, head and antennae while working on the painting. They did have one specimen but his/her wing was torn up so I purchased this one instead. As usual, click on the image itself for a magnified view:


This isn't exactly the species I wanted but his head, antennae and face are close enough. He also shares some of the same orange coloring on his body. The best part of it is that one of his legs are down as though he is standing. Most of these pinned specimens have their legs tightly wrapped up against their body so it's very difficult to get a sense of how they would position themselves in life. This is where additional photo sources become invaluable being that I am unable to travel to foreign countries and get these images myself.

I tried to get a picture of the front part of this specimen's face and body but was unable to. Unfortunately, my digital camera isn't very useful for macro subjects. Also, when I took him outside for the photo shoot just now, a gust of wind swept up under one of the lower wings and made it fly up, thereby weakening the area that holds it up. Now it's drooping a bit. If you are curious though about the way the face and arms look, I recommend doing an image search under Google for "Hercules" or "Atlas Moth" and the word "face." You will also get a glimpse of the caterpillar, which apparently is as big around as my wrist! Can you imagine one of these devouring your tomato plants in the garden?