Mr. Salsich's Class
Third Grade Explorations in Learning
A Luna Moth
The other day at recess we found a giant Luna Moth resting on one of the windows.
A magnificent Luna Moth
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Luna Moths are huge. This one was about 3 inches across and probably would have been 4 inches with the wings fully spread.
It was such a beautiful and strange creature that we decided to learn more about them.
This website (EEK!) told us that luna moths only live for one week once they emerge from their cocoons! That is one of the reasons people don’t usually see them. The other main reason they are hard to spot is that they rest all day (usually in the woods) and only fly around at night.
Here is a photo from Wikimedia showing a female luna moth in the wild at night:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Actias_luna_in_Florida.jpg
How do we know the moth in the picture above is a female? Well, this website told us that male luna moths have bigger, bushier antennae. You can see that the picture of our luna moth has bigger antennae, so it must be a male and this one has smaller antennae so it is a female.
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As an adult moth, luna moths only live for a week, but before that they spend about 5 weeks as caterpillars.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luna_Moth_caterpillar.jpg
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When they emerge from their cocoons as moths, they don’t eat at all. In fact, luna moths don’t even have mouths! They just focus on finding a mate and laying eggs for next spring.
Female luna moths release a scented chemical called a pheromone to attract a mate. Pheromones are kind of like a perfume that tells the male where the female is.
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June 3rd, 2012 at 10:46 pm
To Mr Salsich.
I love animals and nature. I’m very interesterd in the luna moth. I hope that I can learn more about the luna moth. I’ve never seen a luna moth because I live in Australia. I have seen an Emperor Gum Moth. They are really big. Luna means moon!
From Harmony (Ms. Norton’s 5N class)
June 3rd, 2012 at 10:48 pm
Hello,
I liked the Luna Moth the best because they are so pretty and very interesting.
From Georgia (Ms. Norton’s 5N class)
June 5th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
It has been my good fortune to have seen several of these magnificient creatures. They always ‘surprise’ me when I first see them, they are so big and beautiful, almost unreal! I have never seen one in flight, but I would bet I would be even more surprised how big their wings are! Someday……I hope.