Loony Moth

A few months ago Paige and Brett found a catterpillar making a cocoon right against our garage door. Of course, when the garage was opened it fell, so we put it in a jar not knowing if it would try again. Surprisingly, it made another cocoon. That jar sat on the counter for weeks and weeks. We almost tossed it out several times. We even opened the jar and poked around at it. We had really forgotten about it and did not expect anything. Then one day, there is this huge, bright green moth in the jar. It is now November and we are not sure how a moth is going to survive the cold weather.

We put it in a bucket in the open garage where he sat for hours...and then was gone! We found it in our gardenia bush. It sat there for days and days even through the snow. We were sure it was dead. After all this time we did a little research and found out it is a Luna Moth. It should stay in the cocoon all winter. I guess being in the warm house confused it! The Moth does not eat and has a life span of one week. After days in the same spot we started to find it in different spots in the bush and even on the side of the house. It is now gone, we can't find it, but it did survive for more than a week and although its short life was spent in the cold wet bush instead of a warm springtime we enjoyed watching it!