Luna Moth

Actias luna

Description:

Adults eclose, or emerge from their cocoons in the morning. Their wings are very small when they first emerge and they must enlarge them by pumping bodily fluids through them. During this time, their wings will be soft and they must climb somewhere safe to wait for their wings to harden before they can fly away. This process takes about 2 hours to complete. The Luna Moth typically has a wingspan of 8–11.5 cm (3.1–4.5 in)[4], rarely exceeding 17.78 cm (7.00 in)[5] with long, tapering hindwings, which have eyespots on them in order to confuse potential predators. Although rarely seen due to their very brief (1 week) adult lives, Luna Moths are considered common. As with all Saturniidae, the adults do not eat or have mouths.[4] They emerge as adults solely to mate, and as such, only live approximately one week. They are more commonly seen at night. Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actias_luna...

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5 Comments

MayraSpringmann 11 years ago

Incredible!!!

BrandonBlount 11 years ago

Thank you everyone! These are among my favorites, not just because of their coloring, but because they are hard to spot for the most part, in the wild they stay fairly well hidden during the day. To have one visit at night and to be able to get so close to such a wonderfully large specimen is just awesome!

Karen,

I haven't seen any other silk moths this year, normally we get Cecropia and Promethea. However, I've yet to see any. I am hunting them at night with power lamps and still I only tend to get the little guys.