"Gravity"- Caterpillar Photograph by Samuel Jaffe/The Caterpillar Lab

Samuel Jaffe (The Caterpillar Lab) captures the gravitational defiance of Cecropia Giant Moth (Hyalophora cecropia) in this remarkable photograph, titled "Gravity."

Sam Jaffe describes the story behind the image: "A coarse stand of buttonbush resists the flatness of a lowland floodplain. I am out caterpillar hunting, but my usual slow process of pushing aside branches and turning leaves has so far uncovered only a few small and nondescript species. I take another step. And another. Finding a cecropia is not like finding other caterpillars. There is rarely much intentional searching involved. It is early August at Fowl Meadow and without warning a giant cecropia caterpillar materializes right in front of my eyes.

The cecropia is one of the heavyweights of the caterpillar world. Large, colorful, charismatic, and easy to raise, no other caterpillar has so influenced my development as a naturalist. They are the elephant or rhinoceros in my sense of this micro-ecological place. Unfortunately, cecropia are declining, along with many other species across the Eastern United States. Caterpillars are not immune to the pressures we put on our ecosystems; introduced species, pesticides, and light pollution have all taken their toll."