The Luna moth was chosen in 1987 as the most beautiful in America and selected to appear on a United States postage stamp. It also won first prize to grace the cover of National Field Guide for Moths. And in the year 2007, it was programed as an animated moth symbol on television to advertise products to cure insomnia and promote sound sleeping all night long.
Known as the largest lime-green moth with a wingspan of 5½ inches, the Luna is as big as a human hand, easy to identify and for that reason a very popular species to observe.
The Luna moth also has a literary history in science going back to at least the year 1758 when Greek philosophy and theorists classified it as reminiscent of the planet Saturn, and it got its title from the moon-like spots near its tail. Subsequently, it is often mislabeled as an American moon moth.
Over the years of writing about its ambition and longing to capture the glow of candle in its wings and fly away with it to light up future eternal darkness, the Luna moth is used as a character metaphor for achieving impossible human endeavor.
They live and may be readily seen in the eastern half of North America, as far north as Saskatchewan in Canada and as far south as Florida. My illustration of the moths also shows four caterpillars feeding on green leaves of walnut, hickory and birch trees known to host sustenance for future reproduction into moths.
However, the moth population is currently in decline because of deforestation of their habitat, as well as expansion of property to residential, business or recreational environmental not conducive to reproduction.
The male Luna moth has a much more recognizable, bushier antenna that is sensitive to detect the minerals of hormones of a prospective female in heat. However, once he is finished guiding to her, he flies on to find as many other females as possible. Once she has mated, she begins laying nearly 600 small round eggs before both she and her mate finish their lives.
The Luna moth is a highly specialized species almost unlike, unreal and independent of others near its kind.
In my opinion, the Luna moth is worthy to be recognized along with all the other significant creatures I have written about and illustrated. As in my Native American philosophy, “every living creature on earth is sacred, even the smallest blade of grass,” and the Luna moth is a celestial motivated spirit of earthly consequence and worthy of our environmental recognition and evaluated appreciation.
By George B. Emmons
