We had a little visitor

So, I'm sitting on my deck and I keep seeing some motion out of the corner of my eye along the fence. When I turn to look at the fence, I don't really see anything--but DD was down looking along the fence and spotted THIS GUY!



This has to be the biggest moth I have ever seen in my life (I'm assuming a moth due to the large body size) Anyone have an idea what he is or how I can find out? He was longer than the span of my wrist to the tip of my middle finger--which is 7"

He stayed there, just flipping his wings around for at least 6 hours. Every kid in the neighborhood got dragged into our yard to see it. I believe I said "Don't touch it's wings, you'll hurt him" at LEAST 50,000,000 times and I would STILL see kids trying to reach out and touch it. Man, kids don't listen do they?

Here is a view of his big body:



Not usually a fan of the big flying things--but this guy was pretty neat!

EDIT: I'll be damned if I didnt' Google "Large colorful moth" and this came right up! It's my Moth:

Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia)
This is the largest of the North American moths with a wing spread of five to seven inches. Its overall color is various shades of brown, but there is a conspicuous white mark near the center of each wing. There is a dark eye spot and a tinge of lavender near the tip of the front wing. The moths make their seasonal appearance in early summer and lay their eggs. They are often found at lighted windows at night.





Cecropia Moth (R. Bessin, Univ. of Kentucky)