Friday, May 25, 2018

The Blessed Event


Back in the winter, a friend was given a luna moth cocoon as a gift. This might sound like a slightly strange present, but she texted me excitedly, and I got excited, too. She called me the other day, yelled, "It's happening!", and I got there in time for much of the blessed event. It was so interesting to watch that I didn't get a lot of pictures, but here are the few I did remember to take.




I've seen a few luna moths before, but never one emerging from its cocoon. We looked up lots of information during eclosion (the technical term for coming out of the cocoon) and read that the new moth's wrinkled wings would get pumped full of hemolymph (what invertebrates have instead of blood), and then its wings would dry and harden. At that point, the moth can fly. My friend kept it overnight because she thought it would be safer from predators, but let it go the next morning. We had also read that adult moths only live for about a week, and because they don't have any mouth parts, they don't eat, and really just mate and lay eggs during their brief life. She didn't want this poor moth missing out on anything!

We think this one is female because its antennae aren't very large. Males have much larger and more feathery antennae, the better to "smell" the pheromones released by the females. So fly free and lay eggs, Lady Luna. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for luna moth caterpillars and cocoons this summer and fall. This is something I'd love to see again!

Here's hoping you get to experience some lovely natural blessings during this long weekend!
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Just to let you know: Blogger has stopped emailing me when people comment. This seems to be the case for everyone on the platform, and I really hope that this is fixed soon, but it doesn't seem to be anything that I can remedy myself. Please know that I do read, value, and appreciate all of your comments. I hope this issue is short-lived and I hope to be able to reply to you very soon!

19 comments:

  1. Fantastic! I had no idea you could have a luna moth cocoon at home! I used to see one every year on the same day at the library. I'd go out to empty the book drop early in the morning and there would be a luna moth against the brick building. This happened for 3 or 4 years in a row, always on the same day!

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  2. Very, very cool! Luna moths are so beautiful.

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  3. Amazing! I knew NONE of this! Wow, I am experiencing a "mind blown" moment and excited with the new knowledge you have filled my tiny brain with! Thank you!

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  4. Such a rare joy! That is truly one of nature's many miracles.

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    1. I hope I can find a cocoon this summer so I can see this again!

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  5. I would have loved to have seen that, nature is always surprising.
    Just like the wrens trying to make nests at the back door, in the wreath, in the grill, under the propane gas tank cover . . they keep the species going.
    Thank goodness for Mother Nature.

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    1. I felt so lucky to see this! I'm watching a wren's nest in one of my birdhouses, but it's hard to see them closely and not scare them.

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  6. That is BEAUTIFUL. I didn't know they lived up here. I hope Lady Luna enjoys her week.

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  7. What a fantastic event to experience!!

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  8. Wow. That is very cool. I've never seen a Luna Moth up close & personal, but maybe I just have to LOOK. It's a fascinating process, and they are so beautiful! Sorry about the Blogger business, and hope too that it's soon resolved. Have a great weekend, Bonny!

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  9. Oh, FUN! I would have loved to have seen this. I am sorry to hear that the Luna does not get to eat and hang around a while, but it has its life path, I suppose. I think that is a very original and lovely gift for someone who is curious about this sort of thing. I hope you have a lovely weekend with some quality time wherever and with whomever you like.

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  10. all morning I've been trying to figure out how to get the email notifications. I doubt we will get that feature back since the gdpr or the gpdr law went into effect. GRR. Maybe blogger is broken??

    anyways I love your moth, we had butterflies once and one didn't pump both wings so it was 'disabled'. My daughter took care of it thru the weeks until it died a natural death. We had to take him/her on a beach vacation!!

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  11. I saw one a couple of years ago in NH - they are so cool! Glad you got to see her arrive. Sorry to hear they have such a short life cycle. I wonder what else they in their very short time? Have a nice weekend!

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  12. well....this is pretty... however, since I'm afraid of moths and butterflies - this would have freaked me out big time - LOL!

    Linda in VA

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  13. How beautiful! (and I learned a few more things about moths reading this post - a bounty of TIL!)

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  14. I am going to see if I can get a coccoon for my sister. She'd love that! such a cooll post

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