Fuzzy, winged little terrorists

It is summer, which means time for a variety of bugs to show their ugly little faces. At work we've been having a spider issue lately (or so I'm told - I haven't seen one yet). The other evening after Kaitlyn went to bed, Andy and I decided to sit on the front porch and enjoy some adult beverages. Well, he enjoyed a beer. I enjoyed a pink lemonade but I would have preferred a wine cooler if I wasn't pregnant. Anyhow I was sitting there, minding my own business, when a bee (or wasp or hornet or whatever it really was - I will just call it a bee though) comes up to me and buzzes around like I'm the best thing since sliced bread. It flies all around me, including up and down my arms. I would normally move off to another direction to get away, but I couldn't because I was sitting in a chair and the thing was right in front of me. To move, I would have first had to get up out of the chair and bump the thing out of the way in the process. So instead of moving, I froze still. My heart was pounding into my throat and I am pretty sure I was holding my breath much of the time. I squeezed my eyes shut while Andy tried to talk me through this crisis. Though I could not see, I could feel it's wings against my arm as it flew up and down. It felt like that thing was terrorizing me for ages, but in reality it was probably only like 30-40 seconds maybe? I don't know, I probably am not the best judge of the time that went by while I was sitting there frozen in terror.

So besides bees, another bug I have issue with is moths. Ever since I was little I have had this issue...although now that I am older I can handle the tiny little ones. When I was young I couldn't even stand those. But any moth bigger than my fingernail seriously grosses me out. The bigger, the grosser. I thought I was going to throw up last night at work when I went into the kitchen to shut off a light, and saw a moth fluttering outside against the window. This was not just any moth - this was like the mother of all moths. This thing was MASSIVE. Seriously the biggest one I have ever seen. And it was disgusting. It was furry, with a reddish colored body and legs, big beady eyes, and huge wings that I must admit did have a pretty neat pattern to them. But the thing was still disgusting even if it did have a pretty pattern. Anything that flies but does not have feathers, and instead has a big fat red furry body - well it is just wrong. Eeeeew I am getting the creepy crawlies just thinking of it! So of course I had to look it up online, and I believe it was Cecropia Moth.

Here is a picture I stole from Google Images:


The Cecropia Moth is a type of Giant Silk Moth. They are the largest moth in North America, with a wingspan of 6+ inches. They don't have mouths, so as adults they do not feed. They live for a short time to breed, and then they die since they don't/can't eat. What a life, hey? I am just thanking my lucky stars that I have never run into one of those things face to face while outside. If that thing flew at me I think I might have a heart attack.