# Japanese Luna Moth



## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 6, 2011)

Saw this guy in the woods the other day. It is the Japanese luna moth, _Actias artemis_, called Oomizuao in Japanese.


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## goldenrose (Jun 6, 2011)

so cooool!!! :smitten:


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## Pete (Jun 6, 2011)

awesome


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## SlipperFan (Jun 7, 2011)

Beautiful. I don't see any difference between it and the American one.


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## Howzat (Jun 7, 2011)

Can you make it as a pet ?????
(Some people collect buterfly, so why not collect moths???)
Are they well prized in Japanese culture???


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## Yoyo_Jo (Jun 7, 2011)

Very cool! What's it's NS? :wink:


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## JeanLux (Jun 7, 2011)

:drool: Elegant coloring!!!! Jean


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 7, 2011)

SlipperFan said:


> Beautiful. I don't see any difference between it and the American one.



They essentially look the same Dot.



Howzat said:


> Can you make it as a pet ?????
> (Some people collect buterfly, so why not collect moths???)
> Are they well prized in Japanese culture???



I far as I know, these moths (Saturniid moths) don't eat and only live a very short lifespan, living off their fat reserves. You can grow the pupae to an adult though. Every Japanese person I showed this picture said the same thing, "that is the first one I ever saw."



Yoyo_Jo said:


> Very cool! What's it's NS? :wink:



NS ~ 15 cm


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## emydura (Jun 7, 2011)

WOW. That is an amazing moth. 

I know a girl who has a moth phobia. I don't understand it myself.

David


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## Marc (Jun 7, 2011)

A wonderfull creatures the colour reminds me of jade. I love it!!!!


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## Shiva (Jun 7, 2011)

Beautiful! Looks like a natural kite.


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## Hera (Jun 7, 2011)

How beautiful !!


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## Lanmark (Jun 7, 2011)

That's just about as pretty as pretty gets!  Definitely jade-like in color.

I like it a lot better than those jumbo-sized death wasps you've got flying around over there sporting flesh-rotting stingers or those monster-sized huntsman spiders (or whatever it is they're called) which lurk around like Baby Eight-Legged Gawdzillas waiting to inflict cardiac arrest on any unsuspecting passersby.


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## Rick (Jun 7, 2011)

I think the larvae of the Amercian version are somewhat focused on new oak growth for food. They are not too uncommon here in TN, but it seems like the season to see adults is pretty short. I usually see them when the local little league baseball park has some night games going with their giant metal halides going.

What do the Japanese counterparts eat Tom?


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## Heather (Jun 7, 2011)

Have only seen one of these once, in Mass. Really spectacular creatures.


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## Clark (Jun 7, 2011)

Really nice find! Tough getting unblemished.
They don't last too long w/o mouth parts.
Had one in yard last year, wings were shredded. On it's last leg, so to speak.


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## jmelot (Jun 7, 2011)

Oh, beautiful! Thanks for posting it.

Luna moths are my favorite moths (except maybe for sphinx moths). I grew up in an oak forest and we used to find dead ones occasionally, always decapitated (!?). I once raised one from its cocoon - I happily remember the night we released the new adult.


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## W. Beetus (Jun 7, 2011)

Stunning! I would love to see one some day. I believe they only live about 30 days or so...


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 8, 2011)

Rick said:


> What do the Japanese counterparts eat Tom?



Sushi? :rollhappy:

Ah, well, there are a large number of oak species in Japan, so maybe that is their fare here as well.

I think this one was newly out since it was completely unblemished and unable to move. There was a typhoon the night before in fact, so if this guy had been out he would have been ripped to shreds.


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## fundulopanchax (Jun 8, 2011)

A magnificient moth, Tom! I usually see a Luna Moth in the US every three years or so by accident. I think they are much more common than this frequency suggests since I did a photography project a few years back where I set up a white sheet by the woods and shone a light on it. In the morning I went to see what was still attached and nearly every night there was a Luna moth. They were different moths I am sure since each night I did woods that were a few miles apart.

Ron


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## biothanasis (Jun 9, 2011)

Amazingly beautiful!!! Thank you for sharing!!


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## NYEric (Jun 9, 2011)

Pretty, I saw one once in our apt when I was younger. In this setiing it reminds me of Totoro!


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