(UPI) – The Washington State Department of Agriculture said a massive moth spotted on a resident’s garage was identified as the first atlas moth ever documented in the United States.
The department said a University of Washington professor snapped photos when he spotted the gargantuan moth perched on the exterior wall of his Bellevue garage July 7, and state officials examined the photos and confirmed the insect was an atlas moth, one of the world’s largest species of moth.
Atlas moths are native to the tropics and have never been documented in the United States. “This is a ‘gee-whiz’ type of insect because it is so large,” Sven Spichiger, the agriculture department’s managing entomologist, said in a news release. “Even if you aren’t on the lookout for insects, this is the type that people get their phones out and take a picture of – they are that striking.”