Fascinating moth

I was coming back from picking up the kids from band camp and dropping them off at the library yesterday and got out of my car and looked at the bushes growing there and saw these wings - The moth was folded up. I used a piece of paper and got it to open its wings and this is what I saw. The body is very heavy and it was clinging to this very small branch on this bush thing growing next to my parking spot. I came inside hoping Hailie had left her camera so I could take some pictures. She had not. So when she called me to come get her, I got her camera and she shot these two pictures for me. This is really quite a large moth and unusual in that it looks like peacock fathers on the wings with the "eyes" like that. I wonder if that is a warning for predators of the moth. Maybe Rena may know what kind of moth it is - she's good about nature things - I'll have to ask her - lol.


If anyone knows what kind of moth this is, please feel free to comment and let me know - E :)

PS - I did a bit of research and found this info:
Polyphemus Moth - Antheraea polyphemus
Order: Lepidoptera / Superfamily: Bombycoidea / Family: Saturniidae - Giant silkmoths / Subfamily: Saturniinae / Tribe: Saturniini

It seems the moth is laying (and that would explain the large body of the thing, which I didn't picture but I will if the moth is still there today). I will try to get more pictures of the moth next to my car as I can. Who knows maybe I'll even be able to get the whole life stage of the moth from larva to adult - E :)