In Canada and northern regions of the United States they are univoltine, meaning one generation per year. Life cycle Illustration by Edna Libby Beutenmuller from Field Book of Insects (1918)īased on the climate in which they live, Luna moths produce different numbers of generations per year. Luna moths are also rarely found in Western Europe as vagrants. The Luna moth is found in North America, from east of the Great Plains in the United States – Florida to Maine, and from Saskatchewan eastward through central Quebec to Nova Scotia in Canada. Several other North American giant silk moths were also given species names after Roman or Greek mythology. The initial Latin name, which roughly translates to "brilliant, feather tail", was replaced when Carl Linnaeus described the species in 1758 in the tenth edition of Systema Naturae, and renamed it Phalaena luna, later Actias luna, with luna derived from Luna, the Roman moon goddess. Etymology ĭescribed and named Phalena plumata caudata by James Petiver in 1700, this was the first North American saturniid to be reported in the insect literature. Wing color is blue-green in the north and for the over-wintering generation in the central and southern states second and third generation wing color has more of a yellow-green tint. Both sexes have antennae, but on the male, much longer and wider. Females will have a larger abdomen compared to males because it contains 200–400 eggs. There are some sex-determined and regional differences in appearance. The eyespots are thought to confuse potential predators. Each eyespot can have arcs of black, blue, red, yellow, green or white. The eyespots, one per wing, are oval in shape on the forewings and round on the hindwings. Its color can range from maroon to brown. The forward edge of the forewing is dark-colored and thick, tapering in thickness from the thorax to the wing tip. Energy is from fat stores created while a caterpillar. Adults have vestigial mouthparts and do not feed. Females and males are similar in size and appearance: green wings, eyespots on both forewings and hind wings, and long, sometimes somewhat twisted tails extending from the back edge of the hindwings. Over a period of several hours the wings will enlarge to full size. The imagoes (winged, sexually mature), often referred to as 'adult moths,' emerge from the pupae with the wings small, crumpled and held close to the body. Fifth-instar larvae descend to the ground and use silk to bind dead leaves around the cocoon. The larvae may take on a reddish-brown color just prior to cocooning. Small, colorful dots – yellow or magenta – may line the sides of the fourth and fifth instars. The fifth (final) instar grows to approximately 70–90 mm (2.8–3.5 in) in length. Larvae are primarily green, with sparse hairs. Description Įggs, attached in small groups to undersides of leaves, are mottled white and brown, slightly oval, and roughly 1.5 millimeters in diameter. Ī parasitoid fly deliberately introduced to North America as a biological pest control for the invasive species spongy moth appears to have had a negative impact on luna moths and other native moths. The elongated tails of the hindwings are thought to confuse the echolocation detection used by predatory bats. Īs defense mechanisms, larvae emit clicks as a warning and can also regurgitate intestinal contents, confirmed as having a deterrent effect on a variety of predators. Its typical wingspan is roughly 114 mm (4.5 in), but wingspans can exceed 178 mm (7.0 in), ranking the species as one of the larger moths in North America.Īcross Canada, it has one generation per year, with the winged adults appearing in late May or early June, whereas farther south it will have two or even three generations per year, the first appearance as early as March in southern parts of the United States. The moth has lime-green wings and a white body. The luna moth ( Actias luna), also called the American moon moth, is a Nearctic moth in the family Saturniidae, subfamily Saturniinae, a group commonly named the giant silk moths.
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