Luna Moths Finale?

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Back in the first week of August, a lot of luna moths I had raised from tiny caterpillars to cocoons emerged within a couple of days.

I had already taken eggs, cocoons, and moths to the Butterfly House, so I simply enjoyed the show…deciding to release the moths near my house. I quickly discovered that the mating moths don’t want to be moved…they stayed in the cage. And then there were eggs on the side of the cage.

I finally had some that were single again to release…although some were still reluctant. They would fly a short distance and not always toward a tree. I managed to move a few from the cage directly to my dogwood tree; it isn’t a food plant for caterpillars, but it did provide shelter for them. Eventually they all flew away.

The release I enjoyed the most was of a female moth that was clinging to my finger. She vibrated in place – revving – and then flew gracefully away and up to perch in a river birch.

I kept the eggs and let them hatch. Several references said that luna moth caterpillars ate maple leaves…so it was something worth trying. They did not eat the maple leaves at all! I was so hoping the maple would be acceptable to them because I have a maple in my yard.

I still have some cocoons that seem to be viable, but they have not emerged yet. I am beginning to wonder if those cocoons are going to not emerge until next spring!

Ten Little Celebrations – July 2025

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July was a great month to be outdoors – even though it was very hot…plenty to celebrate.

Rescuing a large cecropia caterpillar from the trash. One of my morning shifts at the Butterfly House started with quite a surprise….finding a cecropia caterpillar in the trash while I was cleaning up before opening. I celebrated that I happened to look down before I threw in the messy paper towel…and could easily return the caterpillar to the table display.

Luna caterpillars making cocoons. I celebrated when my 40 or so Luna Moth caterpillars started making their cocoons. When they were all large caterpillars, it was challenging to keep them sufficiently supplied with sweet gum leaves.

More and more cocoons…and then I took the last 4 Luna caterpillars to the Butterfly House. I celebrated some quite days with only rustlings from the pupa inside the cocoons.

The first Luna Moths emerging. The first moths started to emerge…3 males in one day! I celebrated that so many of the cocoons seem viable too…so many more of these beautiful moths will be emerging soon.

A late afternoon barbeque picnic and evening mothing. I celebrated with a great meal with fellow Butterfly House docents…and then seeing how lights and sheets in the evening attract moths.

Dayl ilies at the Botanical. I celebrate the profusion of color and form of the day lilies every year about this time.

Finding S. Fred Prince’s The rainbow in the grass; wildflowers of the Marvel Cave Ozark. I was doing my usual look at botanical books for next month and happened upon this beautiful one from the early 1900s about the wildflowers in the Branson MO area….close to where I live!

Seeing cattle egrets. As I drove north from Dallas, I saw a flock of cattle egrets flying over the highway. It must be a good year for producing young.

Lake Springfield Boathouse Garden. My husband and I always enjoy the plantings around the building…and the walk down toward the field of wildflowers. We went early enough in the day that it wasn’t too hot.

Sunflowers at the assisted living home. My sister planted sunflowers in a big pot (and some of the seeds must have spilled because several plants are growing in the soil next to the pot). I celebrated that they are thriving and the memory that my niece brought a sunflower seedling in a cup home from kindergarten, and my mother propagated them along the alley for years. That niece is getting ready to have her second child soon.

Luna Moth Cocoons

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Some of my 30 or so luna moth cocoons are over 2 weeks old now. So far – no moths have emerged, but the pupas are making noises as they move around inside the cocoon! I made a short recording of the small noises that reassure me that they are indeed viable and developing.

The cocoons are optimally silk produced by the caterpillar and sweet gum leaves, but sometimes other things get incorporated – twigs and bits of paper towel (which was on the floor of the bin) are the most common additions. At the time these caterpillars made their cocoons, the bins were very crowded and sometimes two cocoons are side by side…too close to separate without risking damage to the cocoons. It will be interesting to see what happens as all of these emerge.

Sometimes the caterpillars don’t use silk and leaves; they are ‘bare.’ I have three that are like that. They are easy to see moving so seem to be acting like the ones that do have the outer covering. Will they emerge and be healthy? In the wild, it seems like they would be vulnerable to be eaten although if they fell to the ground, they might look enough like poop that they would be left alone.

I have so many cocoons that I will have plenty of opportunity to observe moths emerging….so looking forward to that experience.