☆ Scroll to the bottom of the blog for full informational ☆
A beloved friend of mine gifted me a small jam jar of Luna moth eggs that she had laid by two mated Luna pairs she had obtained as pupas. These babies hatched into the world on April 8th, a bakers dozen of 'em. This was only my second species of butterfly/moth I had raised after my bountiful Florida Monarch season a few summers ago. Their constant eating (and pooping) led to constant growth and by April 26 they were beautiful, gumby creatures. They entered their final instars by early May and began to pupate on the 8th. On June 3rd the moths emerged, with my same beloved friend present to watch their majesty, gumby and strange once more, just now in a different form. We sat and watched them perch to pump their wings full of the gumbiness, one by one. Only three moths emerged, one female, two male: nearly a 25% success rate. These first moth eclosed (just learned that word) the same day my Tulip Treemoth laid her eggs. The first Luna that emerged did so on her own, and the next morning she proved to be mated and egg bound. My friend and I joked that she had experienced immaculate conception but as she was alone in my moth house (outdoors) with only a female Tulip, there's no way to disprove this. [7/23/24]
My beloved friends from last round of rearing ~~~ Thank you for the eggs!
My Lunas passed after mating and laying and once more I had eggs to watch after. Their lay date was 6/5. Every morning I cracked their tupperware, but only a little, enough to stick my mouth in and breathe heavily so that I could see the condensation from my breath. A mother's work is never done.
My beautiful babies hatched 6/17 with 75 strong. Yes, seriously, 75. I at the time was awaiting three separate species to hatch, so anxiously checking my three tupperwares on my desk daily. This day a gasp of shock and delight escaped me as I looked onto this.
(6/17, 6/17, 6/18, 6/19)
First Instar ✧ 6/17-6/19, Day 1-3 ✧ 75 ✧ Caterpillars are tiny as can be and perfectly green. Noticeable texture with small hairs abundant all over body with slightly differently colored face -- hard to see with them so dang small!
Second Instar ✧ 6/20-6/22, Day 4-6 ✧ 50 ✧ Already experiencing rapid loss with numbers dropping from 75 to 50 but cats are ravenous and happily hosting on the presented Sweet Gum leaves. Differentiations can be noticed in color and pattern with their bodies remaining bright green and their spines a paler green. Segments more pronounced and recognizable. Some adopt black dots. Identifiably rigid in appearance.
(6/25, 6/27, 7/1, 7/4)
Second Instar ✧ 6/25 - 6/27, Day 9-11 ✧ 40 ✧ Cats are growing substantially in size and eating enthusiastically -- pooping too! Container has to be cleaned every other day from here on out. Black dots on fore front are more common, slight orange color to the remaining spines on backside. 10 lost on the 25th, 13 more by the 27th. Change cleaning to every day due to loss.
Third Instar ✧ 7/1 - 7/4, Day 15-19 ✧ 20 ✧ Third instar is the start of the gumbiness. Noticeably softer and juicier looking. Dots have faded and now a more spiked profile takes over. A yellow line runs down the side. Fore front still has orangish spikes. Shape, texture and pattern is almost completely different. Eating an insane amount now, and pooping even more it seems. Frass smells nice, strangely, but needs to be changed every day now or it will mold. Cats are moved from tupperware to plastic storage container. Loss doubles, now with 20 caterpillars left only. Sad.
Third Instar ✧ 7/13, Day 24 ✧ 14 ✧ Changing leaves and cleaning poop daily, these cats are growing so fast and eating seemingly faster. Thank the gods we live in a mostly Sweet Gum forest and I just have to walk off my deck to grab some more food.
(7/19, 7/23, 7/25, 7/26)
Fourth Instar ✧ 7/19, Day 30 ✧ 10 ✧ Fourth instar is here and these guys look wild. Bigger than my thumb and the most gorgeous color with a very distinguished segmentation. Tiny hairs protrude everywhere on the body now and the face is a very distinct looking "mask". Between instars the cats now pop off their little helmets and leave them behind. It is a bit unnerving lol.
Final Instar ✧ 7/23, Day 33 ✧ 10 ✧ Only ten babies remain but I'm tickled that many have chosen to stick around. Last round of moths I only had 4 pupate. The final feeding, I bring them a gorgeous and fresh bundle of leaves for them to finish their final instar.
Final Instar ✧ 7/25, Day 35 ✧ 10 ✧ I check on them and notice some have pupated! Hurrah! This is so exciting. I move them to the moth house now and allow the other cats to finish up in peace. I do not count the pupa and try a more hands off approach this time*
*Last time I raised Lunas I was very invasive with my observations and separated pupas in their leaves but for some reason, after I disturbed them, more than one caterpillar climbed out of their leaves and died? So I am trying to avoid that at all costs.
Final Instar ✧ 7/26, Day 35 ✧ 10 ✧ One cat remains. A neighbor's kids come over to love on the chickens and the cats and the dogs and eventually become entranced with my moth house. I show them the silky pupa and the final caterpillar, who they name Lemon Lime. Welcome Lemon Lime! God speed on your journey. I bring Lemon Lime some final leaves.
☆ Full Informational ☆
Actias Luna, Luna Moth
Family: Saturniidae ✧ Subfamily: Saturniinae
Host Plant: Sweet Gum Tree (Liquidambar styraciflua) confirmed by my research;
additional resources cite: white birch (Betula papyrifera), American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), several species of hickory (Carya), walnut (Juglans) and sumac (Rhus). Keep in mind different regional populations have adapted to succession with different host plants.
[University of Florida has a fantastic write up on regional specifications of host plants]
Identification: Wings are light green in color with typical Saturn "eye-spot" markings on both forewing and hindwing and distinguishable "tails" trailing off bottoms of hindwings. Bodies are white and fuzzy. Sexual Dimorphism does not occur but differentiations can be noted in antennae size: male antennae are larger + fuller than female. It has also been noted females have larger abdomen due to egg production and storage.
Coloring: Green
Wing Span: 8–11.5 cm
Sexual Dimorphism: No
☆ Fun fact: Adults actually possess a vestigial* mouth but are unable to feed ☆
Instars: First instar = length of 6–8 mm, second instar = 9–10 mm, third instar = 12–16 mm, fourth instar = 23–26 mm, fifth instar (final) = 70–90 mm
Region: North America ✧ Habitat: Deciduous woodlands ✧ Range: All Eastern states. from Maine south to Florida and west to eastern Texas and eastern North Dakota
Conservation Status: Currently non-threatened
Generations: Univoltine (one generation) from Michigan northward, Bivoltine throughout the Ohio Valley, Trivoltine southward. In states like Florida + Louisiana they occur year-round.
Resources:
*Vestigial traits are anatomical attributes retained throughout evolution that have lost some or all ancestral function in the common-age species. Simply, it is a biological part of the body in a species that no longer has a use for it, such as hip bones in whales, etc.
Best Free Plagiarism Checkers Available: Which Tools Stand Out?
When searching for reliable free plagiarism checkers, several tools consistently rank among the best. For students and professionals, tools like Grammarly, Quetext, and Small SEO Tools offer accessible and effective options. BookMyEssay, a trusted academic writing service, frequently recommends Turnitin’s free version, known for its high accuracy in detecting copied content. However, while Turnitin plagiarism checker free is excellent, access to it is often limited to educational institutions. Free alternatives provide a practical solution for those outside academia. Using these tools can significantly enhance originality in your work, ensuring it meets high standards for academic and professional writing.