An afternoon trekking through the woods in a favorite spot in western Albemarle County. Woods, yes, but so very different than the woods here on my mountain in Greene County. And quite the surprise, I happened upon an adult Luna Moth (Actias luna). I’ve never seen one so early.
Its color surprised me too. Leaning more toward yellow than I’m used to seeing. Usually I would describe the color as a pale lime green. On the Internet I found one site that mentioned males leaning toward yellow, and this fellow is a male. See those feather-like antennae? That means this one is a male.
These moths are not around long as adults since they are not equipped with a mouth or a digestive system. Their only purpose at this stage in their life is to reproduce, living perhaps a week.
One short life. It’s no wonder that they are seldom seen. Not around long and nocturnal. My normal sightings per year: just one.
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One response to “An Early Sighting”
Beautiful! I love these moths and they are my favorite. I’m hoping to see one this year. I’ve only seen one and that was about 5 years ago at a small campground between Hiawassee and Helen Georgia. We stopped by there on Saturday and saw lots of Trillum cuneatum. So pretty. Such a nice picture of the Luna. Thank you!