Today’s Shot 200

Alternative Health by Pilgrimage Studio

Luna

Large Luna moth
Actias luna

Dear Friends,

I am counted along with the largest moth species in North America flying in with a wingspan of 3-4 inches. You might be surprised to know that as an adult, I don’t eat. I don’t have a digestive system and my mouth no longer has any useful function for eating. My only job by this age is to reproduce and I have a time limit of about a week – and then I die. I know that doesn’t sound very cheerful, but it’s just how I am, and I’m ok with that.

Camouflage is the name of my game and I have more than one trick fluttering in my wings. For one, I blend into the leaves in the daytime which can make me a rare find in my natural habitat. For two, the tops of my wings look like twigs and my teardrop shapes look like buds, so I blend in with the branches of plants. My teardrops also look like eyes which can scare away predators like birds during the day. The third trick I posses is my tail. I need most of my protection at night when preditors hunt by sound or sonar. My ruffled tail creates an echo from all directions which can confuse preditors’ sonar (like bats) so that I can escape being their dinner.

Thank you for reading a little about me.

Sincerely, Luna the Moth

Luna Moth

Luna’s Sources:

University of Washington

Smithsonian Magazine

Goddess of the Moon

© Pilgrimage Studio

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