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Luna
Cocoon This is a male luna moth cocoon, revealing the first stages of the adult moths process of eclosion (to exit the cocoon). It makes quite a racket as he slashes at the silk and dried leaves. |
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Luna Eclosion
Here you see the moth has almost completed his task, and is nearly ready to break free. |
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Free at Last! The moth finally escapes the binds of his winter home and will now search for a tall object to hang from so that he can expand his wings and eventually fly away in the search of a mate. The large feathery antennae are an indication of this moth's sex. |
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Reaching new heights He has found a hickory branch and is climbing to a suitable location in which to complete the task of inflating his crumpled wings. |
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Getting Pumped! The moth seems to have found a suitable location. He will now stay in this position and slowly pump fluids from his body into his wings. The process of inflation takes a few hours. |
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What a workout... Thirty minutes into the process, you can clearly see that the wings are only partially expanded. The antennae are also clearly visible in this photo. |
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Only two small details remain The task is almost completed, and the only remaining details are the tails, which end up being quite large. Wing tails are properties that also exist in his tropical cousins. I'm not certain why they possess these tails, but I suspect it has to do with evading predation. |
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Pumped & Ready
for a Hard Body His wings are fully expanded and he is now waiting for them to harden. Evening is approaching, and he is ripe for the nights adventure. |
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Ready to Fly His wings have fully hardened, and he can now claim to be a fully developed adult male Luna Moth. Let's Party! |
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Pair of PA Luna Moths This is a pair of PA Lunas. They eclosed on the same day, so they will be paired to produce viable ova. The female is at the top, the male below. Note the differences in the antennae. |
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Hmmm... G-Rated audience - not sure what to put here, so ask your mom or
dad about it. |
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Fertile Female is released I released the female in the evening of her second day. She fluttered her wings for a minute to warm up and flew skyward, hopefully in search of suitable plant hosts on which to deposit her remaining eggs. |
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Luna Eggs on Hickory Leaves This is a close-up of several eggs. The total number of eggs deposited on the first night by the first female was 277. |
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Second
PA Female using pheromones The second female was set outside, after the birds retired, on the darkest side of the house with exposed sky. |
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Comparison
of Actias Luna There are regional differences in Lunas, demonstrated by these two specimens. The southern male has longer, thinner tails, his wing tip shape is slightly more angular, and he is more lime green than his yellow-green northern counterpart. The eyespot on the forward wing is also larger, and less elliptical, although not clearly evident in these photos. |
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Luna Larva These larva range from one day to 3 days old. Although it is commonly claimed that Luna eggs hatch within 12 days, these took over 16 during a warm southern spring. An interesting observation is the difference in coloration between the offspring of the pair of PA lunas versus the PA/GA pair. |
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Luna Larva The pair of PA lunas produced larva which are almost completely green... |
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Luna Larva While
the PA/GA pair produced many offspring which sport a brown stripe
and splotch across their backs. |
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Luna Larva These larva are approximately 10 days old. They are prolific eaters and producers of frass. |
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Luna Larva-First Instar You can just make out tufts of hair and orange and yellow details that will later become distinctive features of these first instar caterpillars. |
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Luna Larva-Second Instar These larva eat 24/7. |
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Luna Larva-Third or Fourth Instar Getting larger and more impressive. And still eating 24/7. |
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