NL·0678Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Actias luna
- Family
- Saturniidae
- Native to
- Eastern North America, from southern Canada to Florida and eastern Texas
- Habitat
- Temperate deciduous forest
Luna moth
Actias luna
Also calledPapillon lune (French) · American moon moth (English) · Polilla luna (Spanish)
A pale lime-green silk moth with long, sweeping hindwing tails, found in the deciduous forests of eastern North America. Adults have no working mouthparts and live only about a week, just long enough to mate.
The luna moth, also called the American moon moth, is a Nearctic moth in the family Saturniidae, subfamily Saturniinae, a group commonly named the giant silk moths. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iSpinning hindwing tails create a false echo target that diverts attacking bats away from the body
- iiFemales release a pheromone that males detect with feathery antennae over long distances
- iiiAdults never feed; they live off fat stored by the caterpillar
In the field
Field marks
- aPale lime-green wings with long, twisted hindwing tails
- bA transparent eyespot ringed in yellow, black and blue on each wing
- cPurplish-brown leading edge of the forewing
- dWhite, furry body
- Not to be confused with
- No similar moth in its range. The Indian moon moth (Actias selene), sometimes reared in captivity, is larger with longer tails.
- Where to see it
- Around porch lights near hardwood forests across the eastern United States and southern Ontario/Quebec.
- When
- One generation in the north (late May–July); two or three in the south (Mar–Sep)
Listen
Looking for field recordings…
Life & habits
- Diet
- Caterpillars eat leaves of walnut, hickory, sweetgum, persimmon and birch; adults do not feed
- Habitat
- Deciduous and mixed hardwood forests
- Size
- Wingspan about 8–11.5 cm
- Lifespan
- Adults about 7–10 days
Mostly active late at night; caterpillars click their mandibles and regurgitate when disturbed.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Eastern North America, from southern Canada to Florida and eastern Texas
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Actias luna in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
Linnaeus described it in 1758 as Phalaena luna, after the Roman goddess of the Moon, from specimens sent from colonial America.
Curiosity
In experiments where the tails were clipped off, bats caught far more luna moths, showing that the spinning tails act as decoys.
Kinship
Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 47916.