Judging by its descriptions, it appears there is only one Lunar Moth. The Lunar Moth is able to spawn felmoths, a strange hybrid creature with both feline and moth features. Its wings and scales are used to craft armor. Meanwhile, those parasitoids have not ended the threat of the gypsy moth. The Lunar Moth is a sacred creature, likely native to the Nightsilver Woods. Unfortunately, those parasitoids also attack several of our native saturniids, including cecropia, luna, and promethea moths, reducing their populations in New England and elsewhere. The wings are broad, and have a reddish rust color along the edges of both the fore wings and hind wings. Its wings are a pale green, and has delicate tail streamers. Because the luna moth is so charismatic and recognizable, it is noticeable when their presence is less than normal. People concerned with the devastation caused by gypsy moth caterpillars identified insect parasitoids from the gypsy moth’s native lands and introduced them to America. It ranges from 3 to 4.5 inches, and the name is technically Actias Luna (Linnaeus). Populations of our native saturniid moths (the family that includes luna moths) are shrinking as an unanticipated result of fly and wasp parasites intentionally introduced to North America to prey on nonnative, invasive gypsy moths.

The caterpillars of luna moths can make clicking noises and vomit to deter predators. The tails on the hindwings of luna moths apparently disrupt the sonar that hunting bats use to locate the moths. Luna moth caterpillars are herbivores that graze on the vegetation of trees. She was also seriously into collecting and pinning moths, but when it came to lunas, she noted that dead specimens quickly lose their color, and that 'a living moth must be seen to form a realizing sense of its shape and delicacy of colour.' In the early 1900s, with only black and white photography at her disposal, she turned to watercolors to capture the luna's subtly clear greens, yellows, and purples. Stratton-Porter was a pioneering natural history writer, photographer, novelist, and film producer. Chapter 6, 'Moths of the Moon,' is about luna moths. If you're interested in moths, look for Gene Stratton-Porter's 1912 book 'Moths of the Limberlost.' It's a classic of natural history writing, written by a native Midwesterner. 'Luna' originated as the name of a Roman moon goddess the Greek equivalent was the goddess Selene. The binomial name for the luna moth is Actias luna. The larvae feed on the foliage of the marula, Sclerocarya caffra (Sond.). The luna moth is a silk moth that is a member of the genus Actias. The name 'luna' means 'moon,' and it is the root of the words 'lunar' and 'lunatic' (a term that arose back when people thought the moon could have a harmful effect on human mentality). The African lunar moth, Argema mimosae (Bsd.), is endemic to south-central Africa. People who collect butterflies and moths consider these breathtakingly beautiful moths some of their prized specimens. The beauty of luna moths is appreciated by anyone who is lucky enough to spot them.

Luna moths are often used in classrooms to teach insect life cycles.

Lunar moth