They say it's a sign of good luck

On the day my sister Howdy bought her new house- June 28th...
I was on my way over to help her clean it.
I had to stop for gas, and as I stepped out and opened my tank door something caught my eye.
Something on the ground- right next to my tire. When I looked down this is what I saw.







This moth had the most bright and beautiful markings I have ever seen. AND BIG!
I tried to get my hand in the pic to give you some kind of scale- but he flew away before I could.
He was EASILY 5-6 inches across. I stood there in shock at how big it was. Then I reached in my truck to get my phone so I could snap these pics... and not scare him off.

Another driver walked by and said it is a sign of good luck when a moth visits you.

I guess I was visited... But really I feel blessed- he was beautiful!

A few thoughts:
Although butterflies and moths are very similar, they have many differences.
Most butterflies fly during the day, and most moths fly during the night.
The best way to identify a butterfly from a moth is to look at its antenna. A butterfly's antenna have knobs at the ends of their feelers, and the ends of the moth's antenna is either feather like or plain.
Most butterflies rest with their wings held up above their bodies and most moths rest with their wings spread out flat.
Typically butterflies have brightly colored wings and moths have dull colored wings.
Most butterflies have slender, hairless bodies, while most moths have a fat abdomen and furry bodies.
Butterflies form a chrysalis during the pupa stage of their lives. In moths, the chrysalis is normally contained inside a cocoon.
Most moths have tiny hook or bristle hooking the forewings and hind wings together. Butterflies do not have this hook.
Moths have existed about 100 million years longer than butterflies. So although butterflies and moths appear very much alike, there are quite a number of differences.

All I really know is, it was sure BIG and pretty.
I told Howdy it was her good luck sign- on the house...

Later Darlin'