Luna Moth Hover, Diagonal Blue Industrial

Enhanced photo: lighting and colors have been adjusted.... more

by Adrienne Hantz Kelley

Title

Luna Moth Hover, Diagonal Blue Industrial

Artist

Adrienne Hantz Kelley

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Enhanced photo: lighting and colors have been adjusted.
I did read that spotting a Luna Moth is considered rare, because they only live for one week as winged adults.

The Luna Moth (also called The American Moon Moth or The Giant Silkworm Moth)
Latin Scientific name: Actus Luna

This photograph was taken in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, USA on September 15, 2019 at 9:45pm. (Image previously named "Nocturnal 6")
A fellow FAA artist was kind enough to answer my question, so I changed the title of these Luna Moth images.

When I was taking the photos, all I could see was something glowing white and flying around me in the dark. It was flinging itself against the security lights and cameras of an old metal building in rural Louisiana. It seemed about the size of a bat to me: the weight of it kept moving the lights and cameras. After looking at the photos, I knew these weren't bird wings, but I never saw a moth or butterfly that big! I never saw anything like it. I really thought it was a glowing white bat (with a red face and glowing yellow eyes) flying around me in the dark.

The following information was posted by TheSpruce.com:
"If you have seen a live luna moth, count yourself lucky. This large, beautiful moth is of the Saturniidae family. It is sometimes called the giant silkworm moth or the American moon moth. Once a very common sight, the luna moth is considered to be endangered in some areas, although it is not officially on any endangered species list."

Uploaded

December 12th, 2019