![]() I was curious what the Luna Moth represents or symbolize and found that most commonly across cultures, they symbolizes rebirth, change, transformation, resurrection, and power of regeneration. ![]() It was gone when I checked back a little later so either it made it back to the woods, or was picked up by a hungry bird. In speaking to our wonderful Education Staff, they informed me that the reason it was sitting on the side of the house during the day is likely because it was at the end of its life cycle and had was running out of energy to fly. From when it hatches to when it becomes an adult, it only lives a few weeks. Luna moths are among the largest moth species in North America, with a wingspan of 3 to 4 inches. Females can lay between 200 and 600 eggs. The Luna moth once appeared on the 1987 first class U.S. It is actually thought that it confuses bat’s finely tuned echolocation detection! A Luna moth has a very quick but beautiful life. You can see the Luna moths full life cycle here thanks to the University of Florida Entomology and Nematology department. Luna Moths are a favorite snack for bats, so as a defense mechanism they spin the “tails” on the wingtips of their impressive 3-4.5 inches wingspans in circles, which disorients the bats so much that the moths are often able to make a getaway. After about a month of filling up, the caterpillar builds a cocoon and approx. As with all giant silk moths, the adults only have vestigial mouthparts and no digestive system and therefore do not eat in their adult form, instead relying on energy they stored up as caterpillars.įound only in North America, Luna Moth caterpillars constantly munch on the leaves of walnut, hickory, sweet gum, and paper birch trees. This is due to their very brief (7–10 day) adult lives and nocturnal flying time. When I walked out of my house early this morning, I was thrilled to see something that I had never seen in real life before…a Luna Moth! Luna Moths are not rare, but are rarely seen by humans.
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