Together with a small group of entomologists and artists, I am investigating a REALLY BIG QUESTION:  what is the life history of the largest insect in the world?
 whitewitchblog is about my Feb 2016 expedition to French Guiana.
 whitewitchwatch is a web site I created a site about this project, Intro here:

The white witch, Thysania agrippina, is just one of 75,000 owlet moths, among millions of insect species. But it stands out: with a wing span >30 cm, it is among the largest insects known. The white witch flies over most of the New World tropics, from Argentina to Mexico, and occasionally into the United States. You would suppose that scientists must know the story of such an impressive organism. We don't. The egg, pupa, and caterpillar of T. agrippina are unknown. 

So we are scouring the internet and museum collections for records of the moths. We are looking at the biology of related species, for clues about dispersal and host plants and so on. And we are planning a preliminary trip in February to French Guiana, which appears to be a hotspot for moth sightings. The quest is likely quixotic, but like so much in science, engaging a good question is its own reward. 

Specimen collected by James Prosek in 2010. James is the natural historian, writer, and artist that initiated the white witch project.