A special visitor spent the lunch hour resting inside a small cardboard box Wednesday at the Liberty convenience store, 601 S. Buckeye.

Stephanie Austin, who works as a cashier at the business, saw the unusual looking moth by the west door around noon and alerted customer David Hocker of Abilene.

“I picked him up and we starting looking at him, admiring his coloring,” Hocker said.

The large, colorful moth, with a wingspan of more than four inches, was a real looker, with beautiful brown, tan, orange and white markings.

Both Austin and Hocker and many customers who came into the store all agreed that similar-looking moths are rarely seen in the Abilene area.

“You don’t see those around here,” was heard more than once from store customers.

After allowing the moth to rest a bit in the small box, Hocker was able to coax the moth, which appeared uninjured, to perch on his hand and greet customers who came in the store during the afternoon.

During the interview, Hocker said it was time to give the moth its freedom and took it outside on the store’s parking lot.

The moth attempted to fly away, only to falter and fall to the ground. After seeing a nearby robin fly over to capture the moth, Hocker rescued his new friend and brought it back into the store.

Hocker said he planned to take the moth home, allow it to rest in an insect carrier and then set it free in his backyard.