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Luna Moth
We think this moth had just emerged and begun the “stretching out” process, but we know very little about them. Richard said they were fairly common in rural Alabama when he was a child, with “moth-watching parties” in the evenings.
I crawled around the base of the viburnum, trying to get clear pictures or both dorsal and ventral views without twigs in the way.
Luna Moth, dorsal view
This is a beautiful creature that I did not expect to find in a drought year in central Texas, emerging in March.
Here’s a close-up of the antennae and the beautiful burgundy-colored legs grasping the twig.
Luna Moth's antennae
The eye is barely visible as a partial dark circle just under the “collar” of white “fur” next to the front leg.
A Luna Moth is a terrific birthday present for an amateur naturalist named Moon.
Comment by Caryn — March 7, 2009 @ 7:47 pm
Wow. I was fascinated by them in the insect books I looked at as a kid, but have never seen a real one.
Comment by Adrianne Middleton — March 7, 2009 @ 8:50 pm
That is so cool!!! And the photos are lovely. I especially like those little brown things that stick up from the leading edge of the wing.
Adrianne
Comment by elizabeth — March 7, 2009 @ 9:56 pm
I’m not sure if you mean the light brown feathery plumes near the middle–those are the antennae–or the dark brown markings at the front of the wings…on one of my monitors, that looks a rich purple-brown (and twig-like, with little extensions that are markings even though in that image they do look like they stick up.
The main color is such a delicate pale green, and the purple-brown markings are so bold…I can understand why people would have parties to watch for them in the evenings if they came to light.
Comment by elizabeth — March 7, 2009 @ 9:57 pm
I felt the same way when I saw it…so many pictures in books, but the reality is even better. I hope you get a chance to see one.
Comment by Adrianne Middleton — March 8, 2009 @ 9:19 am
I was looking at the twig-like markings. That’s amazing that they don’t stick up. They sure look three dimensional!
A
Comment by gunhilda — March 8, 2009 @ 11:33 am
I have a closeup of the wing markings of a luna moth here:
http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/gunhilda/Bug%20Pics/DSC01284.jpg
And here:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/gunhilda/Bug%20Pics/DSC01305.jpg
They look like an extra set of eyes! Beautiful!
Comment by gunhilda — March 8, 2009 @ 11:36 am
Oh, and what a fabulous birthday present!
Comment by cdozo — March 8, 2009 @ 12:57 pm
Very nice.
Comment by elizabeth — March 8, 2009 @ 3:20 pm
They do indeed. It was easier to see on the moth itself that they didn’t, but when I first looked at the image I had to go to full-size (these are of course resized much smaller, for ease of posting) to see what it really was. A wiggly line (very twiggish) runs into one of the “eyespots” gunhilda mentioned in that post.