Rescued giant moths emerge from cocoons in Mexico's sprawling capital

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Two moths the size of a hand, their wings patterned with brown and pink around four translucent sections, mate for hours hanging from a line alongside cocoons like the ones they emerged from just hours earlier.

“When I get here and find this, I jump with delight,” said María Eugenia Díaz Batres, who has been caring for insects at the Museum of Natural History and Environmental Culture in Mexico City for nearly six decades.

The mating pair of “four mirrors” moths as they’re popularly known in Mexico, or scientifically as Rothschildia orizaba, are evidence that the museum’s efforts to save some 2,600 cocoons rescued from an empty lot were worth the trouble.

The moths, whose numbers have fallen in Mexico City due to urbanization, have cultural relevance in Mexico.

“The Aztecs called them the ‘butterfly of obsidian knives,’ Itzpapalotl,” Díaz Batres said. “And in northern Mexico they'd fill many of these cocoons with little stones and put them on their ankles for dances.”

These cocoons arrived at the museum in late December.

“They gave them to us in a bag and in a box, all squeezed together with branches and leaves, so my first mission was to take them out, clean them,” Díaz Batres said.

Mercedes Jiménez, director of the museum in the capital's Chapultepec park, said that’s when the real adventure began since they had never received anything like this before.

Díaz Batres had the cocoons hung in any place she thought they might do well, including her office where they hang from lines crisscrossing above her table. It has allowed her to watch each stage of their development closely.

The moths only survive for a week or two as adults, but they give Díaz Batres tremendous satisfaction, especially when she arrives at her office and new moths “are at the door, on the computer."

So she tries to help them “complete their mission” and little by little their species recovers.

CORRECTS BUTTERFLIES TO MOTHS - Maria Eugenia Diaz Batres, a biologist, adjusts cocoons of moths hanging from a clothesline in the gardens of the Natural History Museum in Mexico City, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

CORRECTS BUTTERFLY TO MOTH - Maria Eugenia Diaz Batres, a biologist, looks at a moth emerging from a cocoon while hanging from a clothesline in the gardens of the Natural History Museum in Mexico City, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

CORRECTS BUTTERFLIES TO MOTHS - Maria Eugenia Diaz Batres, a biologist, touches cocoons of moths hanging from a clothesline in the gardens of the Natural History Museum in Mexico City, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

CORRECTS BUTTERFLIES TO MOTHS - Maria Eugenia Diaz Batres, a biologist, looks at cocoons of moths hanging from a clothesline in the gardens of the Natural History Museum in Mexico City, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

CORRECTS BUTTERFLY TO MOTH - A moth emerges from a cocoon while hanging from a clothesline in the gardens of the Natural History Museum in Mexico City, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike will miss the World Cup because of a serious leg injury, France coach Didier Deschamps confirmed Wednesday.

Ekitike sustained a suspected Achilles tendon injury in the 27th minute of Tuesday’s Champions League match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain and was taken off the field on a stretcher.

“The severity of his injury will unfortunately prevent him from finishing the season with Liverpool and from participating in the World Cup,” Deschamps said.

Serious Achilles injuries can take more than six months to fully recover from.

Liverpool did not immediately confirm the news, but coach Arne Slot said Tuesday that the injury looked “really bad.”

Ekitike has been one of Liverpool’s top players this season and was expected to be part of France’s squad for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. He has scored 19 goals for club and country and scored for France in its 2-1 win over Brazil last month.

“Hugo is one of about 10 young players who have made their debuts for the national team in recent months. He had integrated perfectly into the group, both on and off the pitch,” Deschamps said. “This injury is a huge blow for him, obviously, but also for the French national team. His disappointment is immense. Hugo will get back to his best, I’m convinced of it. But I wanted to express my full support for him, as well as that of the entire staff.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike lies injured during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk checks on Hugo Ekitike during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)