Something wonderful!

This afternoon I went outside to do some chores and instead I found a wonderful sight! I ran inside to get my camera but I needn't of rushed because it is still there now - 2 hours later.




I looked in my 'bug book' (an encyclopedia of Japanese insects) and found this is a kind of moth called オナガミズアオ (onagamizuao). At first it was hard to tell because there is another moth almost identical (オオミズアオ) but my moth has more yellow fluffy parts on his/her bottom wings. The moths in the book look very pale blue-green but my moth is still yellow-green becaue the wings aren't dry yet. I guess it is about 10cm across the wing span.

Anyway, it is wonderful - I have never seen such a beautiful moth before. Have you?

PS. I found out this is called a 'Luna Moth' in English. Do you know that 'luna' means 'moon'? It seems these moths are common in the USA, but it is difficult to find one.

Flowers and frogs

Remember the flower I asked about recently? Thanks to M, I know the name. She said they are 'musukari' in Japanese. I found that name comes from the Latin name of the plant - muscari. In simple English they are called 'Grape Hyacinth' because they look like a bunch of grapes! Actually I think they look more like little bells.

Here is a really nice homepage that shows a great picture of the flowers in a famous park in Holland. --> http://www.theplantexpert.com/springbulbs/Muscari.html

And remember the frogs? Well I haven't seen any in my garden this past week because they have all moved to the rice fields. The farmers have been filling the fields with water and the frogs are in paradise! You can hear them in the daytime, and at night it is like an orchestra of frogs :)