Monday night, I was up very late feeding my Sims addiction when I heard something persistently tapping at my kitchen window. It had the sound of something larger than what I would expect at that hour, such as a small moth or beetle. My mind went to thoughts of birds or bats making the type of sound that I heard...or something more sinister, perhaps, which made my heart start thumping. When I cautiously lifted the blinds, I was met with this:
Luna Moth (Actias luna)
[SIZE=-2]R. Bessin, Univ. of Kentucky[/SIZE]
This large pale green, swallow-tailed moth with a clear window eye spot in the front and hind wings makes this one of the most beautiful saturniid moths, much prized by amateur collectors. The wing spread is about four inches.
The caterpillar is about three inches long and adorned with six rows of small pink tubercles out of which arise one or two black hairs. Neither the moth nor the caterpillar are collected very often. The caterpillar feeds mainly on sweet gum, hickory, walnut and persimmon, but has also been collected from sassafras, willow, oak, beech, plum and iron wood. The cocoon is spun among the leaves of the host and falls to the ground when the tree's leaves are shed. The adult moths emerge in June to lay eggs. (from http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/entfacts/misc/ef008.htm)
I wish that I had had a camera handy. The specimen at my window was very large...the size of a small hummingbird...and was truly beautiful. I guess the unseasonably warm weather here made it hatch early...but I'm so glad I got to see it. I momentarily contemplated trying to capture it, but that idea soon went away...I'm not one for catching beautiful things to watch them die and keep them for my own pleasure. When I woke up the next morning, I wondered if I had dreamed it, but when my daughter reminded me of the fact that I got her out of bed to go and look at it, I knew it had been real. I don't see enough of such things...I need to get out in nature more.
Luna Moth (Actias luna)
[SIZE=-2]R. Bessin, Univ. of Kentucky[/SIZE]
This large pale green, swallow-tailed moth with a clear window eye spot in the front and hind wings makes this one of the most beautiful saturniid moths, much prized by amateur collectors. The wing spread is about four inches.
The caterpillar is about three inches long and adorned with six rows of small pink tubercles out of which arise one or two black hairs. Neither the moth nor the caterpillar are collected very often. The caterpillar feeds mainly on sweet gum, hickory, walnut and persimmon, but has also been collected from sassafras, willow, oak, beech, plum and iron wood. The cocoon is spun among the leaves of the host and falls to the ground when the tree's leaves are shed. The adult moths emerge in June to lay eggs. (from http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/entfacts/misc/ef008.htm)
I wish that I had had a camera handy. The specimen at my window was very large...the size of a small hummingbird...and was truly beautiful. I guess the unseasonably warm weather here made it hatch early...but I'm so glad I got to see it. I momentarily contemplated trying to capture it, but that idea soon went away...I'm not one for catching beautiful things to watch them die and keep them for my own pleasure. When I woke up the next morning, I wondered if I had dreamed it, but when my daughter reminded me of the fact that I got her out of bed to go and look at it, I knew it had been real. I don't see enough of such things...I need to get out in nature more.
