Luna Moth

Humans live so long that it seems hard to notice the changes - a baby takes almost a year to learn how to walk. In nature, we can see changes accomplished much faster. A butterfly or moth goes from egg to the end of the larval stage in 2-3 weeks. Recently I was able to witness the final stage - emergence of the adult - and it was amazing (and quick as the insect is vulnerable until the wings are hardened).

Adult Luna moth (male)

I was walking near the creek where the stiltgrass is about 4 inches tall (it will be whacked down) and noticed that the grass was moving; a Luna moth had just emerged from its cocoon and was crawling across the ground, looking for a place to climb up to pump up its wings. I found a big stick and it climbed up, and I put the stick against a tree.

When I came back about 10 minutes later, it had crawled up the tree about 5 feet. I returned several more times over the course of an hour and snapped photos of the changes. Unfortunately, it got dark before it was ready to open its wings. However, 5 days later, I found one in about the same area (see photo above) but I don't know if it is the same one.

Upper left: wings barely showing. Upper right: wings unfurl.
Lower left: wings now longer than abdomen. Lower right: almost done.

By the way, this is not the moth that I posted about last month. That one has not yet emerged.