Treasure the Luna moth

Last year was a banner year for me in that I saw three Luna moths at my house.

Let’s just say I am a seasoned horticulturist and wannabe naturalist and probably have seen far less than a dozen in my life.

Some recent photos on Georgia Nature Photographers Facebook page made me realize the moths are really spectacular in every form of their brief life.

Like a lot of butterflies, you might be familiar with, they go through a molting process called instars. There are five of them over a three- to four-week period.

Like butterflies, they too are vulnerable at this stage, but have a couple of defense mechanisms or tricks up their sleeve to stave off reaching a happy meal status.

They have the ability to raise up and look, I suppose, somewhat menacing and make a clicking sound with their mandibles. If the threat calls for the ultimate defense, they will vomit a vile tasting mess that makes them far less appealing. And of course their green color is also quite the camouflage.

Most don’t realize the Luna moth is one of the giant silkworm species. To get ready for the pupae, or cocoon stage, the caterpillar spins a silk yarn wrapped in a leaf where it will undergo the final transformation to adulthood which takes two to three weeks.

The escape from the pupa, called eclosion, is really quite the effort, as they use their spurs on the base of the front wings to cut their way out. This normally takes place in the morning with males and days earlier than females. Like with butterflies, there is a drying period before flight can begin.

Before I knew better, I fantasized about Luna moths visiting my night blooming moonflower. While this would make for good literature, it is simply not the case as the Luna moth adult has no mouth parts or digestive system as they only have one job and that is to mate, and the clock is ticking.

Female Luna moths release a pheromone that will attract males from quite a distance. While the female remains stationary, the male’s journey to find her is a treacherous one that is filled with predators like owls and bats. A Smithsonian research study revealed another amazing defense mechanism: It was discovered the twisting tails of the Luna moth creates sound patterns that interfere with the sonar-like echolocation used by bats. The clock is ticking.

Once the love fest has occurred, the female stops releasing pheromones and will not mate again. She will begin her first flight and her clock is racing. She will search out larval food sources like birch, oak, hickory, sweetgum, willows and walnuts where she will lay eggs four to seven at a time, but totaling in the range of 400 to 600. The male goes looking for more females, but his stored energy is waning — after all he can’t eat. His clock is racing, too.

Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus named the moth Actias luna referencing Luna the Roman Goddess of the Moon. You have to love the family name too, Saturniidae. With a seven to 10 day lifespan, they find themselves on many nature viewing bucket lists. There is one thing I can just about guarantee, when you do see one, you will ooh and ahh and remember it as one of the special moments in your life.

Norman Winter is a horticulturist and national garden speaker. He is a former director of the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens. Follow him on Facebook at Norman Winter “The Garden Guy.”