Although I am not as dedicated to mothing as many of my friends, I do enjoy seeing and photographing them as evidenced by some of my posts in past years. One moth in particular caught my fancy although I had never seen it in living scales…until today.
Luna Moth-Actias luna! One of my co-workers came into the warehouse and told me to come see what he saw. I could see it from across the parking lot it was such a bright green. He would occasionally flap his wings in flight attempt and later settled into a vibration that is how the moths warm up after eclosing and strengthen their wings before flight. I left it there while having lunch and upon returning he had flown away.
Of course I wish I had my dSLR rather than the phone but it did do a nice job. Both the color (yellow-green for male and for female blue-green) and the bushier antenna says he’s a he. And just look at those eyes! ❤ ❤ ❤ I’d be much happier if this was on the back of my house or in my woods some evening but I’ll take it. 🙂
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
WOW!
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My exact response too, Cindy. 🙂
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Now that you’ve broken the ice, so to speak, let’s hope you have encounters when you’ve got your regular camera with you. Like you before today, I’ve never seen a luna moth in person.
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I’d settle for my old 40D in the backyard even.
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A beauty, Steve! I have never seen one of those before. Thank you.
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Glad to share it with you, Ann-Christine! It seems they are rare in Europe and I hope one wanderer finds its way to your neighborhood. 🙂
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That would be a gift!
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I felt that way, Ann-Christine.
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♥
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They are such beautiful creatures. I have been fortunate to have a variety in my yard. I’ve had the Luna, Pandora Sphinx, Banded Sphinx, and Tersa Sphinx. Type moth into my search bar if you would like to see photos.
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I did a search and saw a couple. I am envious of your species richness there.
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What a rare sight, he’s a beauty! It’s a pity that they don’t live very long and are so elusive.
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A short life span is true for most moths and butterflies. Pupate, mate and die. I guess if that’s your lot in life it doesn’t seem that short but sure does seem so. How about mayflies? That’s a short one.
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Don’t you just love friends who give you alerts because they just know you’d want to know! 👍 😁 😊 Great sighting and shot! I have seen only one in my life to date and I was amazingly shocked at its size, it was on our outdoor porch wall.
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I’ve been very fortunate to have people alert me to a variety of plants and animals over the years. Thanks, Donna!
Sorry for the late reply. For some reason your comment ended up in the spam box. Always a good idea to check in there.
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Fascinating shot of a moth I have never seen before!
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Thanks, Peter. Thanks goodness for the pocket camera that is an iPhone.
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I’m amazed. The moth is stunning, and utterly becoming 🙂
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Nature is just filled with so many wonders.
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NICE! It is a beautiful photo. I haven’t seen one of these in the scales in decades. I’m so happy to see this one, and happy for you that you did. 🙂
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And I’m happy that you enjoyed it too, Melissa. Glad too that you got the “scales” remark. 🙂
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A truly stunning creature!
If we could arrange for kids to see these at an early age, we’d have a whole generation of nature lovers.
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I agree. Getting them started early makes a big difference. Hopefully the pretty ones help them appreciate the not so pretty.
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Very Nice Steve! Never saw one of these before!
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I was only familiar with them because of the photographs by others. Glad to show you something new, Reed.
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Very beautiful moth and capture! How big would you say it was?
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I’d say about 2″ wide and about the same long. A little larger than a monarch.
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I’ve love to see one of these, but never have. Lucky you, and lucky us that you saw one!
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That’s what I’ve been saying for years too. Once I got the shot I couldn’t wait to share it.
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Such a fun siting, Steve, the colors are amazing and so cool to see one alive. Kudos to your colleague for sharing!
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My coworker takes care of the store grounds among his many responsibilities so he was just going about his business when he noticed the moth. Lucky me for his telling me about it.
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Fascinating timing. Just a few weeks back I also saw my first “wild” luna moth. I’ve seen them on buildings at night but hadn’t yet seen one while out hiking. I’d taken off work early to go hiking so it was in the afternoon and I found it resting on a tree. I’ll post it in a week or two. I really like how yours has its wings wide open and I like the variety of the background. Mine has its wings angled back in resting mode, so you can’t see the lower eyes. And based on your description mine might be a female as it appears more green-yellow than blue-green. I’m glad you posted this one, I really enjoyed it!
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I hadn’t even seen one on a building which is where I expected to some night when I had our back lights on. Seeing one in the day was both exciting and surprising. Looking forward to your post, Todd.
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At first, I read “I am not as dedicated to nothing as many of my friends”, and figured your friends must be retired…
That moth is a beauty. We don’t have ’em on our side of the country, I’m Luna green with envy.
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I do have a few retired friends and a few retiring friends, Dave. One of these days I will be both. And when that day comes I will be mothing.
I’ve been that same shade for years until I finally spotted this beauty. I hope he successfully passed on his genes.
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I’m glad you’ve seen one of these. I once did and this post brought it back very clearly. How amazing their size, colour and textures are.
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They are wonderful moths. If they were those whose larvae eat wool I’d still welcome them. Glad this provided a nice memory, Susan.
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Extraordinary moth! I started seeing images of them used in mixed-media art a few years ago and was both surprised and impressed by them…unlikely that I’ll ever see one in real life though.
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It is amazing how nature’s creatures evolve in such varied and in most cases beautiful ways. Unless one gets sucked up by a storm and dropped off in your neighborhood you won’t likely see one as they are only found in North America.
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Oh, YES! I’m happy for you. Did I tell you that one was on a plant for sale at a grocery store once when I was shopping? There was a display outdoors. I think this was upstate somewhere. I was able to pick the plant pot up and purchase it, just to save the moth from any possible harm. I don’t remember exactly what I did with it but I do remember seeing another around the same time. And I’m sure the one I “bought” moved to a better place fairly quickly.
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Nice gesture toward nature. 🙂 Hopefully it found a mate and was fruitful and multiplied. 😀
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Yes. 🙂
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Beautiful image – I’m envious! I don’t think I’ve ever found one.
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Thanks, Tom. The iPhone does a nice job and Snapseed as well.
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