my daughter went to a live butterfly moth exhibit today and saw luna moths.
the problem is i have no mexican flame vine and cant find it and the man there told her ( my daughter 13) that was the only flower he knows of that they like.
what other plants do they like???? she wants to attract them to the yard but i have no clue.
any help welcome.
need help please
Try this link... http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/luna_moth.htm. We had one near an outside light last week. We have plenty of sweet gum here, so I guess that's what they would eat. Becky
link didn't work, trying again http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/luna_moth.htm
This message was edited Apr 24, 2005 12:14 PM
Marie, I noticed that there is one vendor in Plantfiles who has Senecio confusus (Mexican Flame vine) for sale. http://calastropicals.com/module/store/search.php?query=Senecio+confusus. I don't know your zone, but it appears to grow down to zone 8b, at least.
Other than that, I haven't had a lot of luck with Passi seeds, either. I managed to get one to germinate, out of about 20, so I have one vine. But, a lot more is hardy in your area than mine!
Have you considered Googling "luna moths" to find a list of other host plants?
From this site: http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4th/kkhp/1insects/luna.html
WHAT DO THE LARVAE EAT?
The luna moth caterpillars eat many kinds of tree leaves, depending on where they live. In Canada and the northern border states within its range, larvae prefer white or paper birch leaves, and produce one generation a year. Most adults fly from early June to early July. In New Jersey and states of that general latitude, larvae eat hickory, walnut, and sweetgum leaves.
In these warmer climates they produce two broods, or generations a year. The first brood appears from late April to May and the second brood appears nine to eleven weeks later. In the southern part of the United States, larvae like to eat persimmon tree leaves. Adults fly at eight to ten week intervals starting in March, allowing for at least three broods. Adult lunas have been found in every month in Louisiana.
From this site: http://butterflywebsite.com/articles/bgq/LunaMoth.htm
emale Luna moths lay grayish-brown, cylindrical eggs singly or in small groups on the underside of host-plant leaves. White birch is the favored host plant in the North. Black walnut, butternut, hickory, persimmon, sweetgum, alder, beech, willow, wild cherry or sumac may be chosen in other locations.
In Connecticut, John Himmelman finds black walnut to be the favorite food plant of Lunas. He reared Lunas while writing and illustrating A Luna Moth's Life (Grollier Publishers, 1998), part of his series of childrens nature books. In North Carolina and points south, persimmon is often the first choice of ovipositing females.
Larvae hatch in a week to twelve days. They begin a three-to-four-week eating binge (up to six weeks in the cooler North) that increases their weight by over 4,000 times. To accommodate this phenomenal growth, they molt four times to their final size, about three inches long. Light-green larvae have a dark head, a yellow stripe along each side and rows of red knobs (tubercles), some bearing short hairs.
I got 942 hits off Google, when I searched on "luna moth larvae food." And, as you can see, it took exactly 4 minutes to obtain that information and post it here.
Yep - I get tons of them at my outside light every year and I have a bunch of sweetgum trees for them. The adults do not live long enough to really feed so you have to have a food source for the young in order to attract them. You also will rarely see them without a light to bring them in out of the darkness. I am lucky - I live in the country. I have a large light that attracts all sorts of neat insects. It also attracts a smart little fox that sits patiently at the base of the pole awaiting tired moths, etc. for a snack. I know, its terrible to see the moths go, but that fox is cool. If your daughter is really interested in insects you should help her put together a "bug collection". It is what sparked my interest in them many moons ago and its much better than playstation.
Adult Luna moths (and many others) do not have mouth-parts. They do not feed so they don't need nectar. They live on the stored fat from their larval (cat) stage. (weird huh!) So yes the best place to see them is near their host plant source. For my area that would be Sweetgums but I don't have any and have never seen any!!! :( I have had an Indian Moon moth tho which is a foreign relative.
A big ol 'hearty' welcome .. to DG, to ya .. slgrowers !!
imzadi .. I wish you and your daughter much wonderful 'luck' and finding a wealth of information .. for attracting the Lunas to your yard/gardens!
Here's a pic of one Luna moth, I jes happened to spyball out on the rocks near the strawberry bed, Sunday, about mid-mornin' ... S/he seems to have lost an 'antennae'.. So, don't imagine s/he had much longer to live .. according the info I found about the Lunas. Sure are quite an interestingly beautiful moth tho' ... Jes seems so sad, that they have such an extremely short life span.
- Magpye
They are just so beautiful! It is so frustrating that I have never seen any!
Me neither!