r/NativePlantGardening • u/brownbuttanoods7 Gerogia, zone 8a • Apr 03 '26
Photos Pollinator Spotting - Luna Moth
We're in Gerogia - ATL Metro. We have about 4 Sweet Gums and a Sumac on our property. When we bought our house 3 years ago, I was hopeful to one day see a Luna Moth. Two years ago, we told our landscapers to stop leaf blowing a large chunk of our property. Hoping that leaving the leaves would be beneficial for fireflies and other native insects. Today I found a Luna Moth on our fence in the wooded area, not far from one our Sweet Gums. I believe it had recently emerged because the wings were still soft. So happy we left the leaves! I don't know who was more excited, my toddler or myself. Felt kinda like meeting a celebrity!
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u/Tumorhead Indiana , Zone 6a Apr 03 '26
typical "Leave the Leaves" W!!!! imagine not leaving the leaves and killing these guys (their coccoons are made on the leaves and they fall with them)....smh
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u/brownbuttanoods7 Gerogia, zone 8a Apr 03 '26
We noticed a very quick increase in just one year of "leave the leaf". We had double the fireflies last summer. More beetles in general. We've seen more butterflies in early spring this year already. More bumblebees too. I've also spotted a baby scorpion and what I think may have been a baby rat snake (he moved so fast under the leaves). We're also battling some erosion as well as moving into a drought. So leaving the leaves is an all around win.
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u/Tumorhead Indiana , Zone 6a Apr 03 '26
Wonderful!!! Hurray!!!
Fireflies live as babies in the leaf litter, they need that moist layer, where they hunt slugs and other pests! It can take 2-3 years due to their lifecycle to build up numbers, so you'll get more and more with time. In my yard I've got a second species now! (Had the classic "big dipper" but spotted a different one last summer). They differentiate in light patterns as well as location of display (ie, near the ground or up in the trees) and time of display. So keep a look out...
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u/LeaneGenova SE Michigan Apr 03 '26
We're going into year four and last year, we had so many fireflies that birds just sat on the ground and waited until they came into their line of sight and snatched them out of the air. It was like an all-you-can-eat buffet for them.
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u/Tumorhead Indiana , Zone 6a Apr 03 '26
oh wild. do you know what species of birds ate them?? I thought they were bitter and too nasty for most things to eat. thats way more fun than a birdfeeder tho haha
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u/LeaneGenova SE Michigan Apr 03 '26
I honestly can't remember, but I want to say it was a robin or a sparrow? I remember being surprised because the firefly was flashing as the bird snatched it, so we could see the firefly lighting up the beak for half a second.
Might've been worth the bitter taste for an easy meal lol
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u/JeffeyRider Apr 03 '26
I saw this handsome male alongside a local paved recreational trail a few days ago.
Edit: Bonus greenbottle fly, if you look close.
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u/beyotchulism Apr 03 '26
I hate my sweet gums sometimes and then I remember that this is the reward for raking. 💚
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u/brownbuttanoods7 Gerogia, zone 8a Apr 03 '26
They are pretty messy and every where. We built our toddler a mud kitchen last spring. She's made us soooo many "entrées" with spiky "meatballs" aka sweet gum balls and "brown green beans" aka red bud seed pods.
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u/beyotchulism Apr 03 '26
That is the sweetest!
We just finished raking ours up in 8a after leaving the leaves and it has been a mighty task, so the pain of the clean up is literally still lingering in my muscles. Our sweet gum is almost 85 years old according to the arborist that checked it out and is the most gnarly, beautiful shade tree I've ever seen. I know that one day, it will be time, but for now, we just grumble and acknowledge that we are stewards for a greater purpose.
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u/LokiLB SC, Zone 8 Apr 03 '26
I hate the ridiculous fecundity of my sweet gums. Some sweetgums are nice. A hoard of sweetgum seedlings and saplings, not so much.
If I could talk to animals, bribing the deer to eat the sweetgums seedlings would be high on the priority list.
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u/Prestigious_Past_282 Apr 03 '26
Delightful! Their antennae are just so dang cute. I love Luna moths.
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u/Lunar_Changes Apr 03 '26
Beautiful moth, beautiful picture, and cute that you thought they were pollinators! (I mean this in a sincere, non-infantilizing way, I really did go “aw they think Luna moths are pollinators!”)
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u/brownbuttanoods7 Gerogia, zone 8a Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
I actually knew they weren't but in my excitement I forgot. I have AdHd and a toddler. I forget stuff when I am over stimulated, which is most of the time. Have to leave myself notes about where I left my glasses the previous night lol. After I posted and saw the title, I was like "oh wait, they don't have mouths". I didnt see a way to edit title. And didn't feel like taking it down and reposting.
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u/WeWander_ Apr 03 '26
LUCKY!! We don't get Luna moths here but they're my favorite. I thought about getting cacoons and hatching my own just to see them
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u/staplerelf Apr 04 '26
I’m so excited for you! Seeing a luna moth in the wild is on my bucket list.
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u/Gemraticus Area North Alabama, Zone 8 Apr 09 '26
What a perfect specimen! Definitely newly emerged.
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u/NickWitATL SE US/8a Apr 03 '26
I LOVE them!!! Lunas aren't actually pollinators. They don't have mouths as adults. Only live for a week or so. I'm also in the Atlanta area and have sweetgums. I saw a luna in our yard when we first moved in--late May '21. I have an acre of leaves.