The 'Copiopteryx jehovah' is a very beautiful
silkmoth. Here is a little bit of background information explaining
how it received its name.
Herman Strecker was a sculpter who lived
in Pennsylvania (VS) from 1836 till 1901. As a teenager he
started collecting butterflies. During his lifetime he had
a collection of no less than 50,000 specimens. After his death
the specimens were purchased by the Field-museum in Chicago
(Illinois). Herman Strecker named and described 251 butterflies
and moths.
In his book 'Lepidoptera’ he explains
that he named the 'copiopteryx jehovah' not after a person
who had rewarded him with a money loan or a dinner. No, he
named this butterfly with reference to its creator. In this
way, so he said, this extremely pretty variety of moth would
focus the thoughts of the spectator to God.
Copiopteryx jehovah
to give an idea on the size: the moth is 11 cm long and 15,5
cm wide.
