![]() This newly emerged Cercropia Moth, the largest species of Lepidoptera found in North America, was photographed at the home of my new friend Christine. I returned home with the moth and as evening approached it began to quiver and vibrate in preparation for flight. I had been listening to Ave Maria and it was playing in the background so I left it in the video and think the music perfect for this most stunning of creatures. This short film of a Luna Moth in flight was made after finding a Luna Moth at Willowdale Estate. Many thanks to Christine and Jane for sharing their passion for the gorgeous Giant Silkmoths! The mature Luna Moth’s sole purpose is to mate and deposit eggs of the next generation. The adult moths only live for a week and during that time are unable to eat (they emerge without mouthparts). ![]() You are most likely to see Luna Moths flying during evening hours and the caterpillars munching on birch leaves, one of their favorite food plants in our region. Not quite as large as the Cecropia Moth, nonetheless its wings span nearly four and a half inches. A female Luna Moth will oviposit between 400 to 600 eggs, more during warm weather. You can easily tell the difference because the male has much fuller antennae–all the better to detect the female’s pheromones. In the photo above, the female is in the lower right. Jane, along with her friend Christine (who we met last week), intend to repopulate Cape Ann with members of our native Giant Silkmoth Family. These male and female pristine beauties were photographed at new friend Jane’s lush garden in Gloucester. Its size is typically in the 3.0" - 4.25" range.Considered by many to be North America’s most beautiful insect, a newly emerged Luna Moth will melt the heart of even the most vehement of insectophobes. Hosts for Luna Moth caterpillars include a variety of trees, such as sweetgum, hickories, walnuts, persimmon and white birch. Spring generation Luna Moths are a vivid sea-foam green color, while generations that follow throughout the remainder of the year are yellow in color. Male Luna Moth antennae fan out much like a feather. Female Luna moths have slender fuzzy antennae. Males tend to be a lighter shade of green and are slightly smaller than females. As with many other silk moths, Luna Moths do not feed as adults. Life stages are approximately 10 days as eggs, 6–7 weeks as larvae, 2-3 weeks as pupae, and one week as adults. Females lay about 200 to 400 eggs, over a period of days. Further south, the Luna Moth may produce two or three generations. In Canada and northern regions of the United States they have one generation per year. Luna Moths produce different numbers of generations per year in different geographical areas. They are commonly found in the eastern half of the United States, and Nova Scotia westward through Saskatchewan. The adults have a life span of only about one week. The hindwings have long curving tails, and the wings are pale green with a transparent eyespot. ![]() The name is derived from Luna, the Roman moon goddess, and they are sometimes called the America Moon Moth. They are mainly active at night, but can also be seen during daylight hours. The Luna Moth ( Actias luna) is the best-known of the American silkmoths.
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