Luna Moth Caterpillar

What is Luna Moth Caterpillar?

The Luna moth is undoubtedly the most stunningly beautiful moth that we know of. And, there is no question that watching a caterpillar transform into a moth is an enjoyable sight, especially when you are thoroughly involved or play a dynamic role in the process. Anyone with a fondness for insects would find that raising caterpillars is not only an enjoyable but also a great learning process. Whether you’re a seasoned hobbyist or doing your first time, you will take sheer pleasure in raising Luna moth caterpillars.

Luna moths, blessed with attractive eyespots on the wings, are a striking lime green in colour. Recognized among the largest in North America, they have a wingspan of up to 4 ½ inches with a lifespan of just 7 days. So, they have as little as a week to do as much as they can, including reproducing before they finally perish. While adult luna moths are hard to find apart from being eye-catching, luna moth caterpillars are outstandingly finest little creatures.

A luna moth settles on a leaf, and its bright green coloured wings are all folded over the body. This fine-looking creature spread its wings all of a sudden so that it can reveal its impressive size. It may surprise you to know that the wingspan of these tiny insects can extend up to four and a half inches i.e. about the same length of an iPhone.

Luna moth caterpillars are so hefty that they seem to be an excellent meal for diverse predators. In fact, they count on various methods to protect themselves from being attacked by predators. Camouflage is one of the best methods followed by luna moths caterpillars to defend themselves. Their bright green colour is similar to the colour of the leaves it not only feeds on, but lives. As a result, predators have a hard time seeing their prey.

When luna moth caterpillars find themselves under attack, they release horrible fluids onto their attackers. This fluid is the one that has been shown to discourage predation from other creatures like ants and mice.

Well, we can express our gratitude for the name of the luna moth, Actias luna – an appropriate soubriquet for the most stunningly beautiful of all nocturnal insect creatures.

How does Luna Moth Caterpillar look like?

Even though the luna moth is huge and multi-coloured, it is no butterfly. It’s a massive silkworm moth. If truth be told, it’s absolutely a thrilling experience if you find one, albeit they’re common throughout most of their range.

Luna Moths, which are scientifically called Actias Luna, are giant green moths that don’t have a long lifespan (about a week) after they’re done hatching from their cocoon. Founded in North America, these striking caterpillars have a circular design on their wings that bear a resemblance to the moon.

Luna – meaning ‘moon’ – can be an obvious indication to the moon-like eyespots on the insect’s wings. These insects are also often known as moon moths or American moon moths. These giant creatures with handsome eyespots remain active when the moon is at its peak.

Luna moths are the creatures that are compellingly attracted to lights. Perhaps, you may catch a glimpse of them in the air around the porch light during the mating season. And, when the sun ascends, they often seek shelter nearby for much-needed rest. So, it will be good if you look for them at the crack of dawn. Not only are male moths, but female moths too are pale green.

With curved light eyespots on all the four wings, they are blessed with long, curving tails that trail from their hind wings. It seems most likely that Linnaeus evoked the Roman moon goddess Luna in 1758. This is due to the fact that this gorgeous creature’s unique hind wing spots – lucid discs with a dark crescent edge, like the moon when it’s almost full. Maybe she also realized the fact that the complete moth is deemed to be a living avatar of the moon, which is at rest by day and active after the sun sets. No doubt it’s elegantly, delicate yet fantastic.

Habitat

Luna moths (Actias Luna) are found in deciduous hardwood forests not only in the United States but also in Canada. Their population locations range from east of North Dakota all the way to various parts of Texas and south to Central Florida in the U.S. As far as Canada is concerned, people have caught sight of these amazing insects Quebec and Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia west.

Luna moths are stringently earthly organisms, which indicates that they spend their life on land. Deciduous hardwood forests shed their leaves during the winter season, which is why people usually don’t set their eyes on these extraordinary creatures between November and January. Finding this insect is a very challenging task.

The population of luna moth caterpillars is the largest in the states of Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

Diet

Luna moth caterpillars prefer eating the leaves of deciduous trees in the region they’re living in. They also feed on the leaves of various trees including:

• Alder
• Ash
• Birch
• Elm
• Hickory
• Hornbeam
• Hickory

However, a caterpillar in one area or surroundings will never reside, nor will they bloom on the leaves of the trees of another area, although Luna Moth caterpillars local to the tree species will thrive. Luna moths found in the northern region often live on white birch, while their cousins in the south frequently rely on walnut, sumac or hickory leaves.

These creatures start out as an extremely starving caterpillar. Lately produced, they consistently munch on the leaves of the trees mentioned above.

Life Cycle

Apart from being attracted to lights, the Luna Moths caterpillars are extremely strong fliers. The mating game starts after midnight and laying eggs commences that evening. Female Luna Moths, on the other hand, go about laying eggs in a small group or individually on each surface of host plant leaves. The eggs don’t take very long when it comes to hatching (hardly a week). The caterpillars are inactive and isolated feeders.

Like each Moth, Luna Moths are the ones that place their eggs on the leaves of the trees on which the caterpillars will feed on. Female luna moths will lay nearly 400-600 eggs during their shorter lifespan. The eggs nurture for a week or two. Once hatched, they are then hatched into caterpillars. These caterpillars feed insatiably for up to 2 months before they make a cocoon.

Once the luna moth becomes an adult, it does not feed at all. If truth be told, it does not have a mouth for feeding purpose. However, it lives for only seven days as an adult, during which it breeds, and the female moth places her eggs.

The female releases a sex pheromone that is detected by the male even from a long distance using their broad, feathery antennae. Both of them usually mate after midnight. The female starts with laying eggs by the approaching night and continues to do so for many more nights to come.

Are Luna Moths Harmful?

Needless to say, there are some caterpillars that are poisonous and do have hair as well as spines that can result in severe soreness, but Luna Moth caterpillars are the exception. They don’t cause any harm when they come in contact with humans.

In fact, lunas prove to be an excellent source of food not only for birds but bats as well. They defend themselves by becoming blurry, due to which bats have a hard time locating them using sonar. Also, the extended wing tails of these moths can make their predators perplexed.

Pictures

Collection of Pictures of Luna moth caterpillar:

Fun Facts

There is no doubt that Luna Moths are fascinating creatures of the moth world. Not only are they easy to spot, but are massive as well as showy. Let’s honour these divine beauties with some of the most interesting facts you may not know.

1. Luna moth caterpillars click their mouthparts and restate their foul liquids when they sense fear or feel threatened by predators.
2. Luna moth enfolds their cocoons in leaves.
3. When a luna moth appears, it does not have a mouth to feed. The only purpose then is to breed.
4. Where this unique creature lives decides how many offspring it will have.
5. The name ‘luna moth’ came from Linnaeus.