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Moth Days
"In the moon’s soft glow, so clear and bright,
A luna moth takes its flight,
With emerald wings, it flitters and dances
A ballet in the night."
Lepidopterists and moth fanciers, this is your week to wear this delicately hued tartan and dance with the light of the moon! Moth Week celebrates one of the most diverse groups of organisms on Earth! Scientists estimate there are at least 150,000 species of moths, with some believing the number could exceed 500,000! Among these, the giant silk moths are particularly captivating, with the Luna Moth standing out for its distinctive pale green wings and mesmerizing eye spots. This moth takes its name from Roman mythology, where Luna, the moon goddess and daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, shines bright. The Luna Moth is native to North America, found from Florida to Maine and extending into Canada from Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia. Interestingly, while a group of butterflies is known as a 'kaleidoscope,' a group of moths is aptly called an 'eclipse.' This Luna moth green tartan contains all the colors of its delicate wings and distinctive markings! 💚 🤍 🖤 💚 💛 🦋
The butterfly's night cousin, the moths are one of the evening garden's most beautiful companions.
There are many more species of moths than butterflies. Butterflies and skippers (with hooked-shaped antennae) make up 6 -11 percent of Lepidoptera order, while moths make up 89-94 percent!
The largest known moths are the Atlas moths (Saturniidae) with wingspans as large as 12 inches. The smallest moths are from the pygmy moth family (Nepticulidae) with wingspans as small as 3/32nds of an inch.
By designer Carol A.L. Martin, this tartan was created after the designer "saw (a Luna Moth) in my backyard on a lilac bush - a huge pale green moth with markings like little yellow eyes and white stripes."
A member of the Giant Silkworm moth family, Luna Months have a wingspan of four and a half inches. They fly only at night in spring and early summer.
First described and named Phalena plumata caudata by James Petiver in 1700, this was the first North American saturniid to be reported in the insect literature. Its initial Latin name roughly translates to "brilliant, feather tail", and was replaced when Carl Linnaeus described the species in 1758 in the tenth edition of Systema Naturae, and renamed it Phalaena luna, later Actias luna. Some species of giant silk moth larvae are known to make clicking noises when attacked by rubbing their serrated mandibles together. They only live about a week as a adults and then perish.
For a video on the lifecycle of the Luna Moth, click the Luna Moths!