In northern latitudes, there is only one new generation of luna moths born each summer, between the months of May and July, but in the southernmost parts of their range (the eastern U.S., from Florida to Maine, and parts of Canada) two or even three generations can be produced between March and September. Luna moths go through five instars before they spin a cocoon. They normally emerge from their cocoons in the morning and mate at night, sometime after midnight. Luna moths are gregarious for the first two to three instars, but separate and live independently after that. Order: Lepidoptera Family: Saturniidae Genus and species: Actias luna (Linnaeus) Adult luna moths are often seen flying around lights on spring and summer evenings in Arkansas. once they hatch they will roam around and get thier bearings to find food. As babies they're fat, segmented, lime-green caterpillars that prefer certain foods: the leaves of hickory, birch, persimmon, sweet gum, walnut and sumac trees. Wild Saturniid Silk Moths such as Luna moths start thier life out as a egg. These large, shapely moths are the size of the palm of an adult human's hand - a delicate green color with eye-shaped spots on their hindwings and little crescent-shaped loops on the forewings. You might never have seen one in person, but if you live in the eastern half of North America, it's likely a luna moth lives not far from you. Take the luna moth ( Actias luna), maybe the most charismatic mega-moth of them all. You might not love to hang out with bugs, but some insects are real knockouts. The luna moth ( Actias luna) is among the largest moth species in North America, with a wingspan of 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 centimeters).
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