Luna Moth 001

Sometimes I will leave our garage or porch light on this time of year to see what moths are in the area. To my surprise this week a Luna moth showed up. I haven’t seen any in two years so I was worried they were on a decline. A few years back I had as many as five at one time on our screen door.

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Luna Moth 002

The Luna Moth has up to a five-inch wingspan. It is one of Minnesota’s most spectacular moths with its’s bright green color and large size. This one is a male as the male has a larger and bushier antenna than the female. They think this is because the female emits chemical messages for the male to find her. Their eye marks on their wings are there to frighten off predators.

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Luna Moth 003

Luna Moths do not eat at all, as their mouthparts are non-functional. They live about a week and survive on the food source already in their white fuzzy bodies. During that time, they search for a mate, make love and die.

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Luna Moth 004

Their main predator is the bat but other critters will eat them also. I saw one Luna Moth and by the time I got my camera and came back a chipmunk was busily eating it. This one let me get some photos before climbing the railing around our flower garden and flying off.

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