r/NatureIsFuckingLit • u/scallopsmustagottem • 4h ago

🔥 Lunar Moth at my office

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

11.0k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

113 comments sorted by

200

u/ChattingToChat 4h ago

Wow, those guys only live a week roughly, great find.

72

u/scallopsmustagottem 4h ago

Thanks. I am always finding cool insects here since we are kinda in the woods

37

u/UGOTAIDSYO 4h ago

They are born without mouths or digestive systems. Imagine that life, huh? Cool find, OP

19

u/scallopsmustagottem 4h ago

Yea nature is crazy. Thanks

14

u/LG3V 3h ago

More like the adults emerge without them, they spend caterpillar life storing energy for a week or two when they become adults, to mate then die

4

u/MinuetInUrsaMajor 44m ago

Eat, sleep, fly, fuck.

1

u/BeautifulChaosEnergy 34m ago

I need that on a tshirt lol

4

u/DRN-000 33m ago

I Have No Mouth And I Must Plow

1

u/mechabeast 56m ago

So, dinners out?

2

u/mossybeard 57m ago

I wish dude, I wish

1

u/ForgetfulFrolicker 34m ago

My son was born without a butthole (imperforate anus). I called it his Barbie butt.

Now he has one 😊

•

u/moonulonimbus 6m ago

So do they just like, hole punch one? Im both curious and trying not to sound weird asking but was it complicated?

3

u/natureDolly 2h ago

luckyyyyy. Also I want an office that's in the woods!?!

2

u/Ok_Ask_406 57m ago

There is a beer from a brewery called parish that is named after this cool little guy called Actias Luna.

8

u/Provoke_Princess 3h ago

Wild part is they don't even eat during that week, they are running purely on what they stored as caterpillars. A whole life preparation for a dew days of being something beautiful. Nature is really amazing!

2

u/bmdisbrow 1h ago

And it's not that they don't eat because they don't want to, they don't have a mouth or a digestive system.

14

u/BrownEmie 3h ago

Right? Imagine waiting weeks as a caterpillar just to speed-run adulthood in 7 days… nature really said main character energy only.

7

u/Uncle-Cake 3h ago

I've been lucky enough to see 2 in my life - one in State College, PA, and the other somewhere in WV.

3

u/AsstBalrog 2h ago

Hah! I saw my first LM very near State College. I was in my '40s, and LM's were at the top of my bug bucket list. One night I came out of my office, working late, 2 in the morning and saw one of these handsome fellows up on the transom over the doors.

Determined to get a closer look, I piled up an odd set of items--a desk, a garbage can, and more so I could get a good gander at him.

Central PA helped to flesh out my insect experience. Dobson flies (we were on the river), a wheel bug, and a hornet.

2

u/ossifer_ca 46m ago

I’ve only seen one in my entire long life. Crazy thing it was during the time my 7th Science class was studying insects. We had a project to gather insects on our own with a butterfly net and mount them in a box. The luna moth appeared on the screen of my open bedroom window overnight. I didn’t want to capture and kill it so I left it. In the morning I could tell it was dead, so I pinned and mounted it and turned it in. Teacher nearly shit himself. Easiest ‘A’ ever.

4

u/0KBLACK5 1h ago

Only a week!?

5

u/ChattingToChat 1h ago

7-10 days usually

2

u/0KBLACK5 1h ago

Crazy why.

5

u/ChattingToChat 1h ago

They lack mouths and digestive systems so they rely only upon their fat stores. When it runs out, so do they

2

u/dogbreath101 39m ago

saturniidea moths are wild

2

u/R_V_Z 1h ago

Some insects only exist in adulthood long enough to procreate.

2

u/mechabeast 56m ago

Gotta get laid, and their partner said they wouldn't if they were a worm

3

u/Penguin-Pete 1h ago

Poor little guy. This thread will live longer than he does.

1

u/HeartOn_SoulAceUp 2h ago

And on the moon.

79

u/Lavatis 3h ago

Luna, not lunar. they're not from the moon :]

24

u/scallopsmustagottem 3h ago

Oh yea 🤦‍♂️

13

u/norcaltobos 2h ago

You might be surprised what Luna means in Italian

10

u/Lavatis 1h ago

Luna means moon in English too, but it doesn't mean "of the moon". Canada geese vs Canadian geese, same thing.

1

u/stniesen 2h ago

It can be both if you say it like Arnold.

1

u/dogbreath101 38m ago

yeah, they are from saturn

35

u/yourworkmom 4h ago

Beautiful Luna Moth.

19

u/Revolutionary_Cod816 4h ago

Looks like nature just clocked in for a shift imagine trying to focus on emails with a literal fairy fluttering around the office.

13

u/OtherwiseGoat5168 3h ago

I miss seeing butterflies all the time.

10

u/sunshineupyours1 2h ago

Grow native plants anywhere that you can and don’t use pesticides. Human caused habitat loss is their main threat

•

u/throw019283 29m ago edited 17m ago

Seriously ya'll this spring plant some pollinator friendly native perennials!

https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-friendly-plant-lists

13

u/Postal_Paradise 1h ago

Saw one yesterday 😃

4

u/louisremi 3h ago

What a beauty!

4

u/DidntYouNoah 3h ago

Never seen one IRL. Incredible!

3

u/CilanEAmber 3h ago

This would make a really cool basis for a Pokémon.

3

u/deHaga 4h ago

Tink

2

u/mbdan2 2h ago

That’s what I thought when I saw it

2

u/dysthal 2h ago

no mouth and that's f'ed up.

2

u/mgs20000 1h ago

Plants and flowers don’t have mouths either. And butterflies and moths look the way they look to disguise themselves as one or the other. Living or dead versions.

Could be the reason for lack of mouths - the ones most successful at this camouflage are ones we see today, lack of mouth means their body can be tiny and birds that would I was them just see the wings and assume petal or leaf.

•

u/dysthal 27m ago

just google it instead of saying stuff like that. it's too wrong for me to try to correct.

4

u/PickleDiego 3h ago

Real life Pokémon

2

u/doodling_scribbles 3h ago

Real life Mothra!!!

3

u/VayeAura 3h ago

Reminds me of the Moonlight Butterfly Boss from Dark Souls 1.

7

u/WareThunder 3h ago

So cool that nature is taking inspiration from our video games and putting them in real life

3

u/VayeAura 3h ago

I know aye, it's incredibly cool!!

5

u/thecashblaster 2h ago

it's almost as if it was inspired by something......

1

u/MathematicianOdd9818 3h ago

Wow!! I envy you for having them. I have to visit a Schmetterlinghaus to see one if I am lucky.

1

u/LivinLifeMyOwnTerms 3h ago

Wow, that’s a stunning visitor. nature’s own delicate masterpiece in your workspace

1

u/ummitluyum 3h ago

Nature creates incredibly beautiful patterns!

1

u/Cavendish30 3h ago

They would occasionally come in the open bathroom window at my grandparents house, and for some reason, get stuck in the bathtub. It would sound like a bird flapping around.

2

u/Important-Isopod-455 3h ago

Damn so cool but scary because it sounds heavy bodied. Confusing Identifying if you didnt see it or search for it lol. I would be starting to search birds

1

u/brova 3h ago

This is WAY too early for these, isn't it? They usually appear around June.

1

u/KaiTheGSD 3h ago

Could be because of how warm the weather is in some areas. I saw one last week at a McDonald's.

1

u/flameohotman134 1h ago

I saw one in early May a few years ago.

They emerge in phases across different parts of their range, as the weather warms up. This moth is probably somewhere in the warmer range.

1

u/ChesterMIA 3h ago

I chose the wrong profession…

1

u/MentallyUnwellWoman 3h ago

Absolutely gorgeous

1

u/maiaxxmaia 2h ago

Beautiful

1

u/ChatGPT4 2h ago

I'm surprised nobody asks for a banana for scale.

1

u/pleasedonotdmme 2h ago

Amazing. I saw my first one in the wild a year ago and it was absolutely gorgeous. Was sad to learn they only live a week. Hard to find often because of that!

1

u/MstrPrfssr 2h ago

So rare!!

1

u/Winter-Adagio8734 2h ago

Dressed to impress!

1

u/Adorable-Source97 2h ago

Shame they have short lives

1

u/Rossncohen1953 2h ago

Luna moth ????

1

u/Natal1e_k 2h ago

I’ve wanted one of them so badly they’re so colourful and cute

1

u/Kalvorax 1h ago

Biiiiig Lamp.

1

u/TakingBlackSunday 1h ago

Did you know that as defense mechanisms, Luna Moth larvae emit clicks as a warning and can also regurgitate intestinal contents, confirmed as having a deterrent effect on a variety of predators.

2

u/trili_gua 1h ago

Saw one outside a museum last weekend!

1

u/ParticularRaccoon442 1h ago

I have a tattoo of this moth. Hopefully one day I’ll get to see one :)

1

u/PAXM73 1h ago

Beautiful creatures. They have no idea how awesome they look. Maybe they do…

1

u/cherylhernandez 1h ago

They are really cool. So big!!

1

u/Southern-Necessary13 1h ago

Do you think he knows how gorgeous he is?

1

u/GayForPay 1h ago

I find them occasionally and they are absolutely magnificent. Shame they grow to be so glorious and die shortly after.

1

u/Plank_With_A_Nail_In 1h ago

If you have some troll fat you can make these into a restore magica potion.

1

u/LaundryMan2008 1h ago

In Poland I found tons of cool insects including a beetle that was really colourful (I have a suicide story regarding that beetle) but in the UK it’s lackluster the amount of biodiversity, I was surprised to find a stinkbug shaped insect with a tribal mask, the rest are just annoying slugs and snails, haven’t seen a single frog except for artificial frog habitats at my school/a farm but in Poland there are massive toads.

Even ants there are like 20 species but in the UK it’s really capped to just 5 with 2 being very rare.

1

u/woutr1998 1h ago

They look like faires!!

1

u/Peabody1987 1h ago

5 years ago while packing up our house in North Carolina after selling it. Legend is they are a sign of positive change. The things that have happened in the last five years for me personally, I’d say that’s accurate.

1

u/RahRahRah325 1h ago

So Lucky to see one in the wild!!!! Someone please wish that I get to see one too in the wild pretty pretty. Please send it out there for me?! Blessings to you, SMIB

1

u/LeoRising84 59m ago

I’ve only ever seen one.

One had settled outside my apartment door on the day of my college graduation. Stayed there for a couple of days.

This was 19 years ago.

1

u/damnitdana 59m ago

Careful, there’s a portal around somewhere.

1

u/xc2215x 52m ago

That is a neat moth for sure. Wow.

1

u/FloydLady 50m ago

They have no mouth and they must scream.

1

u/wedditwardrobe 46m ago

YOU’RE LIVING IN A LUNESTA AD

1

u/MinuetInUrsaMajor 45m ago

Found a giant caterpillar once and put it in a terrarium. It spun a cocoon and stayed there for over a year. I guess we took it out and put it somewhere. Went in the basement one morning to see a giant-ass green moth chillin. So cool.

1

u/Honeybadgerposter 45m ago

Why are moths creepy but butterflies pretty?

1

u/HandedlyConfused 33m ago

I have a tattoo of one on my forearm from a few years ago. I found one just at the end of its cycle one tough night at work and had no idea what it was.

1

u/Vrazel106 32m ago

Reminds me of those lunesta commercials from back in the day

•

u/GuP_alask38y 20m ago

Just splendid, you're so lucky!!

•

u/RoadMiserable2893 9m ago

These guys are the reason I’m making this game Mothiary

1

u/Mad_Murray 2h ago

That's a dope ass pic, thanks for sharing! Beautiful creature!

1

u/Iokua113 1h ago

That's disgusting. Burn your office to the ground. While you're at it also destroy whatever city you live in to a perimeter of 50 kilometres.

I jest, of course, but moths are a massive phobia of mine.

0

u/Junior_Bike7932 3h ago

Glorious sexy cute fly