The world’s largest moth was spotted in Bellevue, Washington, last month resting on a resident’s garage.
According to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), a University of Washington professor reported the sighting at the beginning of July, Fox 13 reported Wednesday.
Once entomologists identified the winged creature as an Atlas moth officials with the USDA confirmed that information.
Video footage showed images of the moth sitting on the building with a person’s hand being held near the insect to show how far its wingspan reached:
Used my sixth grade "Florida Ecology" knowledge from @GoSAScots on air today with @PatWalkerWX to learn about the difference between #moths and #butterflies! BTW, is this atlas moth pretty or pretty scary? pic.twitter.com/cH6K2qWjAI
— Caitrin Assaf (@caitrinassaf) August 18, 2022
In a social media post on August 5, the state’s department of agriculture shared an image of an Atlas moth with three smaller ones beside it.
“Unfortunately, it is a federally quarantined pest, believed to feed on apple and cherry trees. Please photograph and report suspected sightings to our Pest Program,” the department said:
The world's largest moth has landed in #Bellevue. Unfortunately, it is a federally quarantined pest, believed to feed on apple and cherry trees. Please photograph and report suspected sightings to our Pest Program. https://t.co/E4OMxDC7sZ pic.twitter.com/8rdWXgAJJd
— Washington State Department of Agriculture (@WSDAgov) August 5, 2022
It was believed to be the first confirmed sighting of the insect in the United States and it has a wingspan of nearly 10 inches, the WSDA explained in a blog post.
“This is normally a tropical moth. We are not sure it could survive here,” Sven Spichiger, WSDA managing entomologist, stated.
“USDA is gathering available scientific and technical information about this moth and will provide response recommendations, but in the meantime, we hope residents will help us learn if this was a one-off escapee or whether there might indeed be a population in the area,” he added.
Residents had mixed feelings about the moth sighting. One person told King 5, “Imagining that it’s 10 inches wide, that’s what’s difficult to imagine.”
When asked what he would do if he came across one in person, one man laughingly said he would “probably just run” away from it.
It remained unclear how the creature made it to the United States, the King 5 report noted.
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