Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Photo#266812
Luna Moth 3rd day - Actias luna

Luna Moth 3rd day - Actias luna
De Soto, Jefferson County, Missouri, USA
April 18, 2009
I went out to check on this guy on the 3rd morning and I thought he was finally gone. But lo and behold here he was in another spot of the plant. And he has a friend. Mating already. He was not even strong enough to fly yet. Wow what a surprise for me.

Images of this individual: tag all
possibly a luna moth but I have no clue. - Actias luna Luna Moth 3rd day - Actias luna Luna Moth 3rd day - Actias luna Luna Moth much later - Actias luna

Looks like "he's" a "she"
Congratulations...a nice find! I'm hoping everything worked out OK...but judging from the looks of the moth's wings, she wasn't going to be doing any flying (could have just been the angle of the picture though). Perhaps she didn't find a suitable place to hang in time. After a half hour or so (certainly after an hour), the wings should be fully expanded and rather hardened (though still not ready for flight). But female lunas (like most giant silk moths) tend to stay put until they've mated. Your girl was successful in calling in a male (by releasing pheromones during the night). They should have stayed coupled for much of the following day. After uncoupling, she normally would have flown off after dark to start laying eggs on suitable host trees. But, if your moth wasn't capable of flight due to damaged wings, she may have tried to lay eggs wherever she happened to be. If you can relocate the spot, it may be worthwhile to look around for small clusters of eggs. They'll typically hatch about 10-12 days after they're laid (a bit longer if the weather is cool). If she couldn't fly, it's not too likely that the caterpillars would be able to get to food. I'm just surprised that birds or other critters didn't find her in the few days she was sitting there! By the way, luna moths will either make their cocoons in dead leaves at the bottom of a tree, or wrap a live leaf around their cocoon and fall to the ground when the leaves come off in the fall. Is there a tree above the place where you found the moth?

 
"he's a she"
wow thats a surprise. I thought with my original moth being on top of the huge one that it was a he! So the little one is the she?? something was surely wrong with her. She just stayed so small. The were connected for a long time. Then it was the big one and the tiny one was under the wing. But the next morning they were both gone. so what color would the eggs be if she was succesful in laying some? I know exactly where it was. And there is a tree just above the group of iris's. I can't thank you enough for all the information you have given me. This stuff just totally fascinates me. thanks again. I will go check out there.

 
luna
Well, there's a bit of speculation going on...It's possible that the first one was a male, and another moth (a female) happened to emerge right there a day or two later. He wouldn't have had to fly to find her. But it's much more likely that the first one was a female and it just took one or two nights for a male to find her.

Generally, the females are a bit bigger, but there are always variations. But in this case, you can't really go by the size of the wings if they're messed up to begin with. You would have to compare body size...females usually have bigger, more rounded abdomens (full of eggs), but the females' antennae are usually not as large. I had a small female emerge last year...no other obvious problems, but she died right after she mated. Never saw that before, but all kinds of strange things do happen with these critters.

The eggs would be not much bigger than 1/16" diameter, slightly oval shaped, and white or off-white, perhaps with some brown spots of adhesive, in clumps of 3 to mabye 10. They're usually on the tops or bottoms of leaves, but if your moth couldn't fly and didn't have a choice, she may have dropped her eggs wherever she could...leaves, stems, trunk of the tree...practically anywhere. When they're raised in captivity, a common practice is to put the mated female in a brown paper bag for a few hours. Then you can cut around the clusters of eggs to keep them in separate containers.

Just curious, what kind of tree was above the irises? She could have climbed up the tree to lay eggs, too. If she stayed on the ground and walked around, I'm afraid she'd end up as bird food as soon as it got light in the morning.

 
luna
well, I am adding a pic of the tree. Its the tallest one above the group of iris's. Most of them are nut trees but until the leaves come out lower down I can't tell for sure. Did you see the other pic I added of the same or another luna I saw out front last night?

 
host plants
Nut trees tend to be some of the luna moth's preferred foods for their caterpillars. Black walnut and hickory come to mind. Rumor has it that the more north you are, the more they prefer birch, but it sounds to me like one of those wives' tales. They'll also do well on sumac. Others have reported other trees that work, but the ones I've listed are the most common. The caterpillars may wander off their host plant for a day or two before spinning up, but I don't know how common that behavior is. If I had to guess, i'd guess it came from the tree you found it under...and it may have siblings nearby as well. I saw the other pics. Can you get a closeup pic of the connected dots you thought might be eggs?

 
host plants
Sure I will try tomorrow. Again thanks for all the info Mike.

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.