Found A Living Gem today

[Deleted member 140734]

I was metal detecting in the woods for six hours today. I made some metallic finds which I will post later. I also found a living gem known as the Luna Moth.

 

[Tuberale]

Yes, Also known as the silk moth. The chrysalis of this moth is where silk comes from.

 

[JeffInMass]

Awesome find!

 

[Mackaydon]

[FONT=&quot]Once it becomes an adult, the luna moth no longer feeds at all (in fact, it has no mouth for feeding). It will live for only about a week as an adult, during which time it mates, and the female lays her eggs. It's relatively rare, and rarer if you see it since it usually comes out at night.
Don....[/FONT]

 

[ToddsPoint]

When I first moved here 27 yrs. ago I used to see those big moths all the time. Cecropia, Imperial, Luna. Now I rarely see them. Here's the last one I saw a couple of years ago. Landed on my barn. Gary

 

[Mud Hut]

I like it!

 

[Armstrong]

Beautiful. I saw big gypsy moth last month in the grass. Then a week later got a letter in the mail saying they were spraying for them. Helicopters or whatever they used came at 7 am so they woke me up. I had never even heard of them before but I guess they are a problem.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Very cool !

 

[pepperj]

That's a beauty, a great memory keeper for sure. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[pepperj]

Beautiful. I saw big gypsy moth last month in the grass. Then a week later got a letter in the mail saying they were spraying for them. Helicopters or whatever they used came at 7 am so they woke me up. I had never even heard of them before but I guess they are a problem.

There seems to be an uptick with the Gypsy Moth even here in Eastern Ontario. All Know is the fish along the shoreline dock love the caterpillars, throw them in the water, and it's like we have a piraña living below.

 

[Deleted member 140734]

While not officially on any endangered list the Luna Moth is threatened in many areas. At one point biological controls were introduced to control gypsy moths such as a species of green beetle. Unfortunately it also preyed upon the Luna Moth. This moth has a wingspan of over 4 inches.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Awesome photo, thanks for sharing!

 

[fano169]

I wish they would go easy with all these pesticides, wiping out nature and us slowly down the road

 

[Trezurehunter]

That sure is one beautiful looking Moth. Mother nature sure provided a treat for you that day.

 

[Underwonder]

Lovely! I recently discovered the app “Seek” which I can use my phone and app to point and shoot at any living thing and it will attempt to classify and name the species of what I am looking at..Very pretty find!