Attributes of Actias luna
Luna moth
Actias luna (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Saturniinae
Identification: Hindwings have long curving tails. Wings are pale green, each with a transparent eyespot. Outer margins are pink in the southern spring brood, yellow in the southern summer brood and in northern populations.
Wing Span: 2 15/16 - 4 1/8 inches (7.5 - 10.5 cm).
Life History: Adults are very strong fliers and are attracted to lights. Mating takes place after midnight, and egg-laying begins that evening. Females lay eggs in small groups or singly on both surfaces of host plant leaves. The eggs hatch in about one week and the caterpillars are sedentary and solitary feeders. Leaves and silk are used to spin papery brown cocoons in litter under the host plant.
Flight: One brood from May-July in the north, two to three broods from March-September in the south.
Caterpillar Hosts: A variety of trees including white birch (Betula papyrifera), persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), hickories (Carya), walnuts (Juglans), and sumacs (Rhus).
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Deciduous hardwood forests.
Range: Common. Nova Scotia west to Saskatchewan and eastern North Dakota; south to central Florida, the Gulf Coast, and eastern Texas.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Taxonomy Notes: This moth is often mistakenly referred to as the Lunar Moth, instead of the Luna Moth.
Images of Actias luna
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
Instructions: Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.
Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.
To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map.
The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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May 17, 2012 | rjtesarek | St Louis County | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | DeKalb County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Monroe County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Montgomery County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Madison County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Logan County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Washington County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Hartford County, Connecticut, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | New Haven County, Connecticut, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | New London County, Connecticut, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Tolland County, Connecticut, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Windham County, Connecticut, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | New Castle County, Delaware, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Alachua County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Clay County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Columbia County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Duval County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Escambia County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Flagler County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Gadsden County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Gulf County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Hendry County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Hernando County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Jefferson County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Lake County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Leon County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Liberty County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Madison County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Manatee County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Marion County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Orange County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Osceola County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Pasco County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Pinellas County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Putnam County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | St Johns County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Seminole County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Suwannee County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Volusia County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Walton County, Florida, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Carroll County, Georgia, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Chatham County, Georgia, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Cherokee County, Georgia, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Clarke County, Georgia, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Coweta County, Georgia, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details |
