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The Luna Moth (Actias luna) belongs to the Saturniidae family and is one of the largest of silk moths located in North America. Its wingspan can be as wide as 5.5 inches. The Luna Moth’s wings are a light green with a maroon border on the front. Each of the four wings have a round, transparent spot that is surrounded by rings of yellow and blue. The hind wings are stretched backward and make a long, narrow, curving tails.
The Luna Moth is found along the eastern seaboard states as well as Louisiana, Mississippi and other southern states. They become less common as one moves westward from Texas. In addition the United States, Luan Moths are also found in a great number of Canadian provinces as well. Some of these include Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan.
It is a nocturnal moth and mating is usually done after midnight. The number of broods is dependent upon the area the Luna Moth is located in. Around Virginia there will only be two broods per year, where as in Louisiana, they will occur monthly while in the northern areas there is only one per year.
Females will leg eggs in small groups (4-6 in a group) on both sides of a plant’s leaves. On a whole though, a female luna moth can lay 150-250 eggs. These eggs will hatch in approximately eight to thirteen days and the caterpillars will feed on a wide variety of trees that are dependent upon the geographical location where they are situated. Beeches, hazelnut, cherry, hickory, pecan, willow, white birch, sweet gum, walnuts and sumacs are all host trees for the caterpillar stage of the Luna Moth. Oddly enough the adult Luna Moths do not feed.
When looking at the caterpillars, they reach approximately 3.5 inches in length are green colored and they possess long setae, horns, armored knobs and some even have stinging spines. The anal plate of the caterpillar is heavily armored. As they mature enough to begin spinning their cocoon, the color of the caterpillar will change to a dark amber or burgundy color.
The cocoon of the luna moth is fairly flimsy. As the moth is ready to emerge (eclose) it hurls itself against one end of the cocoon and tears the silk with its hornlike projections near the base of the forewing. The moth will also secrete a substance called cocoonase that breaks down the sericin binding of the silk.
The Luna Moth normally emerges from its cocoon only during the mid morning hours and it takes approximately five minutes. Females can escape their cocoon through areas that are only 3/8 inch in diameter. Once out of their cocoon the moth will then have to climb and hang suspended from leaves, tree trunks, stems and various other plants while they “inflate” their wings which at this time are less than an inch long. To complete this inflation, the Luna Moth will pump fluid into the veins of the soft, stubby wings. The inflation process takes about 30-45 minutes to complete. After that time, the moth will still need to continue hanging while its wings stiffen over the next several hours. This stiffening process will have to be competed before the Luna Moth can lift off and fly. It is interesting to note that females do not normally take flight until after they have mated and also that male Luna moths usually emerge from their cocoons up to two days before the females do.
Sometime between 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. the female Luna moth will extend a scent gland that is located in the posterior part of her abdomen. This scent gland then releases an airborne pheromone that attracts the male Luna Moth. The moths will mate and remain coupled until the following evening. The female will continue to produce the scent until sometime around 1:00 am or until it has been mated. In the wild this doesn’t usually take that long because the males are easily attracted.
Luna moths are often raised in captivity for pleasure and school science projects. The captive Luna moths will mate with siblings or non-siblings. To keep and raise Luna moths in captivity, you will need a properly designed and built cage. These cages can be built in different sizes but the most common is 12 inches by 12 inches and 2 feet tall. It can be made of fine wiring, folded hardware cloth or screen material. The mesh needs to be less than one-half inch. You can place plants inside the cage for the moths to hang from or they will even use the wire or cloth itself.
Children are often fascinated by hearing the racket the moth makes as it emerges from the cocoon and this noise is great because it gives a warning for all that something grand is about to happen. Thankfully there is a ready supply of Luna moths since they are not on any endangered lists.
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