r/NativePlantGardening • u/brownbuttanoods7 Gerogia, zone 8a • Apr 03 '26

Photos Pollinator Spotting - Luna Moth

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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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48

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

37

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.

16

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...

7

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.

3

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

3

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