Caroline and I found this Luna moth bedraggled and wet in the lawn yesterday. With all the rain we have had, she was really struggling with a broken wing as well as being soggy. In the past month we have had a grand array of the giant silk moths and have learned a lot about them. This one is a female and we could tell by her fat abdomen and smaller, less "fluffy" antennae. We brought onto the front porch under the overhang out of the direct weather. I was not as difficult as I thought it would be to convince my nature loving daughter the moth would be safer outside and left alone. Thank you Auntie Cheryl for all your lessons regarding wild critters. Anyway, her wings dried and she moved to the molding around the front door and laid two eggs. Back again to the computer for research and found out that if you put the moth (which only live at most two weeks once hatched from their cocoon) in a brown paper bag she may lay more eggs and we would this way be able to raise them and try to help perpetuate them.
As you can see she is holding her wing up and can't fly. The green wing under her were found the day before by the mail box, just the wing and no body. It just so happened to be on the little shelf drying out when we put the live moth there to dry as well.
So, before moving the moth to the bag, Caroline took some pictures. They came out great for a 6 year old taking pictures.
4 comments:
How wonderfully and tenderly you two saved the moth!! I hope that the eggs do hatch.
They are so beautiful - I occasionally see them here also.
Well, this post brought me a smile ~ nice to hear some of my words made an impression!
I have never seen a luna moth over here. Cara told me she had four of them on her little screen porch the other night! I am definitely going to leave my porch lights on to see what comes in! I would love to photograph one.
I agree! These are great pictures of a magnificent creature. Amazing. Love the new pic of Caroline, too :) Now that says Summer!
I leave my porch light on all night long.........hmmm isn't that a song, oh yeah, redneck woman! ha ha ha sorry,, ok well all I get is a ton of moths that are just little bratty ones, never any thing nice like this. Did the eggs do anything
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