When I visited my sister in Pennsylvania in June of 2021, I saw a green thin slice of stuff drifting above the ground. First, I thought it was a plastic or paper toy. It dropped to the ground a little bit then flew away. Because of my curiosity, it allowed me to see this cool Luna Moth while it stopped on the ground. The Luna moth is a Nearctic moth in the family Saturniidae. It has lime-green colored wings and a white body. The larvae (caterpillars) are also green. It has a wingspan of roughly 4.5 in, but can exceed 7 in, making it one of the larger moths in North America. Giant silk moths have in common a mating process wherein the females, at night, release volatile sex pheromones, which the males, flying, detect via their large antennae. Male then flies in the direction the wind is coming from until reaching the female. Luna moth females mate with the first males to find them, a process that typically starts after midnight and takes several hours.
2021 年 6 月，當我去賓州拜訪我妹妹時，我看到一片綠色薄薄的東西在地面上飄動。 起先，我以為這是一個塑料或紙製玩具。 它掉在地上一下然後飛走了。 我由於好奇心的趨使，趁它停在地上的時候，看到了這隻很酷的北美長尾水青蛾 (月神蛾)。北美長尾水青蛾 (月神蛾) 是一種新北極區蛾類屬天蠶蛾科。它有嫩綠色的翅膀和白色的身體。幼蟲（毛蟲）也是綠色的。它的翼展大約為 4.5 英寸，但可以超過 7 英寸，是北美較大的飛蛾之一。巨型絲蛾有一個共同的交配過程，雌性在夜間釋放揮發性信息素，雄性在飛行時通過它們的大觸角檢測到這些性信息素，然後雄性向風來的方向飛行，直到到達雌性。雌性北美長尾水青蛾 (月神蛾) 與第一批發現它們的雄性交配，這個過程通常在午夜之後開始，需要幾個小時完成。
Notes 筆記
- The Luna moth is a Nearctic moth in the family Saturniidae, a group commonly known as giant silk moths.
- It has lime-green colored wings and a white body. The larvae (caterpillars) are also green. It has a wingspan of roughly 4.5 in, but can exceed 7 in, making it one of the larger moths in North America.
- In 1700 James Petiver described and named it Phalena plumata caudata. The initial Latin name, which roughly translates to “brilliant, feather tail”. In 1758 Carl Linnaeus renamed it Phalaena luna, later Actias luna, with luna derived from Luna, the Roman moon goddess. The common name became “Luna moth”.
- The Luna moth is found in North America, from east of the Great Plains in the United States – Florida to Maine, and from Saskatchewan eastward through central Quebec to Nova Scotia in Canada.
- Based on the climate in which they live, Luna moths produce different numbers of generations per year. In Canada and northern regions of the United States they are univoltine, meaning one generation per year. In the mid-Atlantic states the species is bivoltine, and farther south trivoltine.
- Giant silk moths have in common a mating process wherein the females, at night, release volatile sex pheromones, which the males, flying, detect via their large antennae. Male then flies in the direction the wind is coming from until reaching the female. Luna moth females mate with the first males to find them, a process that typically starts after midnight and takes several hours.
- The Luna moth appeared on a first class United States postage stamp issued in June 1987.
- 北美長尾水青蛾 (月神蛾) 是一種新北極區蛾類屬天蠶蛾科，這種類通常被稱為巨型絲蛾。
- 它有嫩綠色的翅膀和白色的身體。幼蟲（毛蟲）也是綠色的。它的翼展大約為 4.5 英寸，但可以超過 7 英寸，是北美較大的飛蛾之一。
- 1700 年，詹姆斯·佩蒂弗 (James Petiver) 描述並命名它為 Phalena splashata caudata。最初的拉丁名字，大致翻譯為“鮮艶的羽尾”。1758 年，卡爾·林奈 (Carl Linnaeus) 將其更名為 Phalaena luna，即後來的 Actias luna，其中 luna 源自羅馬月亮女神 Luna。 俗名變成了“月神蛾”。
- 北美長尾水青蛾 (月神蛾) 分佈於北美洲，從美國大平原以東 – 佛羅里達州到緬因州，從薩斯喀徹溫省向東通過魁北克中部到加拿大的新斯科舍省。
- 根據它們生活的氣候，北美長尾水青蛾 (月神蛾) 每年產生不同數量的世代。在加拿大和美國北部地區，它們是一代性，意思是每年一代。在大西洋中部各州，則是每年二代，更南是每年三代。
- 巨型絲蛾有一個共同的交配過程，雌性在夜間釋放揮發性信息素，雄性在飛行時通過它們的大觸角檢測到這些性信息素，然後雄性向風來的方向飛行，直到到達雌性。雌性北美長尾水青蛾 (月神蛾) 與第一批發現它們的雄性交配，這個過程通常在午夜之後開始，需要幾個小時完成。
- 北美長尾水青蛾 (月神蛾) 出現在 1987 年 6 月發行的美國第一類郵票上。
Insects Posts 昆蟲的帖子
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Luna moth