LUNA MOTH: Last night, as I was on the phone with Ratty, a startlingly large moth flew into my apartment. I mean, this critter was significantly bigger than any moth I’d previously seen live and in person. It is possibly the size of my hand. (I haven’t checked.) Point is, after flying around my place for a while–while I wondered if it might really be a very small bird, rather than a very large moth, that’s how big it is–it settled in a corner and seems now to have either died or (less likely, as it hasn’t stirred all day) gone to sleep.

I want to know what it is.

It’s about a handspan as far as wings, it’s orangey, and it has dark markings on its wings. I live in Washington, DC. I ordinarily do not see moths larger than a few inches.

What is this strange and wonderful creature that has chosen my home in which to (I think) die?