A giant wood moth rarely seen by humans was found by builders at a Queensland school this week.
Mount Cotton state school in greater Brisbane, which is located next to a rainforest, was undergoing renovations when builders made the amazing find.
ABC news reports the moth, which has a wingspan of up to 25cm, was released back into the rainforest after a builder had taken pictures of the massive insect resting on the end of a saw.
Mount Cotton's principal Meagan Steward said a range of animals were often spotted near the school, but “A giant wood moth was not something we had seen before".
Chris Lambkin, the curator of entomology at the Queensland Museum, told ABC giant wood moths are not uncommon in the area but are "rarely seen by humans".
“The female moths also don’t fly very well,” she said.
“So most people, if they do see one, it has emerged as an adult and crawled up a tree trunk or a fence post and is waiting for the male to come along. Normally people don’t see them with their wings spread out so you don’t realise just how big they are but if you actually lift them up they’re very heavy.”
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