Luna Moth
The luna moth (Actias luna) is a large, pale green silk moth of North American forests with long, trailing tails on its hindwings. The adults have no mouthparts and live for only about a week.
The luna moth (Actias luna) is a large, pale green silk moth of North American forests with long, trailing tails on its hindwings. The adults have no mouthparts and live for only about a week.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Luna Moth in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Ecdysozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Tails That Fool Bats
Experiments showed that the long hindwing tails twist and spin in flight, producing echoes that confuse bats, which tend to strike the tails rather than the body. Moths with the tails removed were caught far more often. See Little Brown Bat.
A Short Adult Life
Having no mouth, the adult cannot feed. It lives off fat stored by the caterpillar, using its time to find a mate by pheromones and lay eggs. Females release a scent that males detect with feathery antennae from far away.
Silk Moth Relatives
The caterpillars feed on walnut, hickory and birch, and spin a papery cocoon on the ground. The luna is a member of the Saturniidae, which also includes the Atlas moth. See Atlas Moth.
Luna Moth at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Actias luna |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Lepidoptera |
| Family | Saturniidae |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Hexapoda (Insects) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Pale green wings with long trailing hindwing tails that confuse bat sonar; adults have no working mouthparts. |
| Family | Saturniidae |
| Adult lifespan | About one week |
See Also
- Atlas Moth — a giant silk moth
- Little Brown Bat — a bat predator