The North American moon moth! (Actias Luna)

This week we look at a very special giant silkmoth that comes from North America (Luna moths). The species is incredibly iconic, and there are many different meanings for it across various cultures. The best part is you can also raise them relatively easily as a pet!

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Transcription:

Welcome back to episode 60 of Insects for fun! I wonder what we should do for episode 100... I’ve also been thinking of adding other arthropods into the mix. What do y'all think? Let me know in the comments section either on IG, FB or in your podcast player. Also when this episode is released I’ll be on a flight back to Japan from the states, so I’m currently writing this weeks in advance. Recently we have had some moon viewing stuff going on in Japan, and I figure what better time than to talk about one of my favorite moths, the Luna moth.

Lunas are in the giant silkmoth family Saturniidae and the genus is Actias. There are actually quite a few species of moon moths in this genus, but not all of them are green like the well known luna. Fortunately in Japan the two different species we have are quite similar to the luna, and I’ll be trying my hand at raising one of them next summer.

Actias luna have large and gorgeous pastel green wings with big fluffy white bodies, and one eye mark per wing. The wingspan can reach 5 inches across and also have long tails which only further adds to their celestial appearance. The name Luna is actually in reference to the roman moon goddess Luna, but this was not always their name! The initial name for these was actually plumata caudata which translates to feather tail, and these moths were the first American giant silk moths to be documented in literature. The name was later changed by Linnaeus in 1758. There are actually quite a few giant silk moths with mythological names like Polyphemus, Prometheus and Atlas for example, but the majority of them are brown or a variation of it. The Luna moth can only be found in North America, and not even the entire continent either. These moths chose a side and thankfully for me it was the east! You can find lunas from Canada down to Florida but they stay east of the great plains, and in Canada they’re found from southern Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia. I’ll never forget the first time I saw one, and thankfully finding them doesn’t seem to be all that difficult if you know where to go.

Luna moths are quite partial to forested areas but what kind of plants they eat is dependent on their geographical location. For example the caterpillars we have in Vermont love eating Birch, but I’ve also been successful at raising them on black walnut as well. Other common hosts include Butternut, Sumac, Sweetgum in the south, Alder, Beech, wild cherry and even persimmon. The time of year to find adult moths also varies heavily by location as well and this is because warmer weather allows them to have multiple breeding seasons unlike the northern populations. In Northern Vermont we have one generation a year and our Lunas start coming out of their cocoons in late May. In the south it’s not uncommon to have 2 or three generations in a year depending on the state. Massachusetts for example is right under VT but can have a partial 2nd generation.

The caterpillars are also an incredible green, and they can get pretty big. The 5th and last molt reaches a size up to 3inches or 7.5 cm and has red dots sprinkled over its back. What’s unique to these compared to other giant silkmoths is that the entire caterpillar actually turns red right before it begins making a cocoon. At least that’s been my experience but I’ve also read that some of them turn brown or orange as well. But it's not the color or the ability to change colors that makes Luna moths interesting or the moths in the genus Actias. It’s actually the tails on their wings that have attracted a lot of attention. Some species in the genus actias have tails on their wings that reach 12cm in length, and that’s just the tail section! I can’t tell you these are the only moths with long tails on their wings but I can definitely say they are one of a handful, and the reason they have these tails is to protect them from bat attacks! Bat’s rely on echolocation to find their prey, and it's one of the reasons why they fly in close quarters to people fishing in the evening. The sounds bouncing off the water from lures being whipped draws them in which can be intimidating I gotta sa...