While in NW Thailand I managed to get a shot of an Atlas moth. It's not the best shot because the moth was moving so its wings are a bit out of focus. But it is Thailand's largest moth with the largest wing surface area of any moth—more than 60 square inches. The wingspan of this one was about 12 inches so pretty impressive.
These moths live for up to two weeks and during that time they don't eat as neither males nor females have fully formed mouths. They survive on the fat reserves from the caterpillar stage. The caterpillars are huge, too—about 4.5 inches in length and about an inch think.
Their cocoons are used in northern India to make a silk called fagara, reportedly an underutilized source of silk fibres.
@kvphoto