![lunar moth lunar moth](https://img.thrfun.com/img/081/216/luna_moth_x1.jpg)
Mature caterpillars become dark red before pupating they drop to the ground and use silk to wrap themselves in a leaf for the winter, camouflaged in the litter of the forest floor. Young caterpillars are knobbier than older ones. One theory is that LM caterpillars are capable of processing the defense chemicals produced by their host trees, and they may become specialists in detoxifying a particular species. They show regional favoritism – LMs in our area prefer birch and do badly if moved to a different food plant. LM caterpillars feed on the leaves of birch, hickory, walnut, maple, and sumac, and add sweet gum, pecan, and persimmon in the south (they aren’t considered forest pests). There is one brood per year here in God’s Country, and two or three in the south.įemales lay between 200 and 400 eggs, singly and in clumps, on host plants. Lunas are nocturnal, and most mating occurs after midnight.Īdults have neither mouth nor gut, and they live only about a week, dying soon after they reproduce. His feathery antennae allow him to sense a mere handful of scent molecules from two or more miles away and to follow the increasingly concentrated scent trail to her. Females emit a pheromone that calls males to her perch. Then they pump up their wings and begin their short lives as adults. Warming weather signals them to emerge from their cocoons, which they accomplish with the aid of an enzyme (named cocoonase!!) that they secrete to soften the dried silk and of a hard spur at the base of each front wing, which they use to break through it here’s a YouTube video and of an LM eclosing (emerging), and some still shots. Here are some photographers who didn’t screw up, ,, , and (possibly posed) ).
![lunar moth lunar moth](https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/luna-moth-spreading-its-wings-daniel-cadieux.jpg)
(LMs make photographers sweat (“please don’t let me screw up, please don’t let me screw up….). Their long, twisted tails are said to interfere with bat radar, and they also present a false target for predators – bats manage to snag some LMs, but many others get away after the bat mistakenly grabs them by those spectacular tails. Both have what’s called quadripectinate antennae, which means that they are comb-like, with four “tines” per unit of the antenna, , and the female. Males and females look pretty much alike her egg-laden abdomen is larger than his, and his antennae are fancier than hers. They are found in wooded areas east of the Great Plains (on rare occasions, LMs have made their way to Europe).Īnd giant they are, with wingspreads that often exceed four inches.
![lunar moth lunar moth](https://www.carolinanature.com/moths/lunamoth8719a.jpg)
Actias is a small genus with about two dozen species worldwide, and the LM is the only American species. The LM’s name came from eyespots that resemble moons (eyespots that make predators ponder whether their target might be different than they originally thought). Luna moths ( Actias luna) are in the Giant Silkworm/Royal Moth family Saturnidae ( of previous BOTW fame), whose family members have ringed eyespots reminiscent of Saturn. The BugLady’s favorite insect is the Tiger Swallowtail (Mom likes me best), but in the crowded field for second place, the Luna Moth is pretty close to the top.