Luna Moth (Click image to enlarge) 
Luna Moth (Click image to enlarge) |
Luna Moth Actias luna The Luna Moth is a large and spectacular moth, with a wingspan of up to six inches. The pale green wings with translucent spots and long "tails" are distinctive. Northern populations have one generation every year, while southern populations have as many as three. The large green caterpillars can be found feeding on many different tree species, but adults do not feed. Finding a luna moth in our increasingly urbanized and chemically-treated environment is always a treat. I remember seeing dozens of them on a late summer day in the birch forests of Isle Royale. One wonders how many were present in the days before the North American landscape was largely transformed by European settlement. I most often find them at night, when they are attracted to bright lights. The individual pictured above was captured at a fantastically-lit gas station in a rural part of central Indiana. I chilled it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to calm it before placing it on some tree bark and taking a few pictures. It soon fluttered off into the woods surrounding my house. Luna moths are members of the Family Saturniidae, and are also known as Giant Silkworm Moths, so named because of their size and the silken cocoons in which they pupate. |
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