Tails that fool bats
The long tails spin as it flies. They confuse a bat's echoes, so that it bites the tail and not the moth.
An American yard · Butterflies and moths
Luna moth
Actias luna
A large, pale green moth with long, twisted tails on its hindwings and a furry white body.
- Size
- Wingspan 8 to 11cm
- Look for it
- April to August
- Where
- Broad-leaved woods in eastern North America
Flaps after you, tails trailing. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Luna moth
Good to know
Six things about the luna moth
It never eats
The adult has no mouth. It lives for about a week, long enough to find a mate and lay eggs.
Named after the moon
Luna is the Latin for moon. Each wing has a small moon-like eyespot.
Found by scent
The male's feathery antennae pick up a female's scent from far away in the dark.
A cocoon in a leaf
The caterpillar wraps itself in a leaf with silk. The cocoon falls and spends the winter in the leaf litter.
A caterpillar that clicks
If a bird pecks it, the fat green caterpillar clicks its jaws and brings up a nasty-tasting fluid.
The real thing
Photos of the luna moth
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Check a wall near an outside light early on a spring morning. Luna moths that came in the night are often still there. Take an adult with you.
How to help
Leave fallen leaves under trees over winter: the cocoons are among them. Bright lights left on all night wear moths out.
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