Luna Moth Cocoon Hatching Kit (Actias luna) – York Insectarium

Reared by York Insectarium and sold through Canada Ant Colony.

Watch one of North America’s most beautiful insects emerge right in your home.

The luna moth is the pale green giant of our eastern forests. Wild luna moths can reach up to 11 cm across, and each hindwing ends in a long, sweeping tail. Adults are rarely seen in the wild because they fly only at night and live for about a week. Raising one from a cocoon is the best way to see one up close.

Each cocoon holds a live pupa that’s resting through the winter. The caterpillar wrapped its papery silk cocoon in leaves before winter. Inside, it’s waiting for spring warmth to finish turning into a moth. When it comes out, the moth pumps fluid into its crumpled wings. They expand and harden over a few hours, which is one of the most striking things you can watch in nature.

Choose your kit

• Cocoons Only: Live luna moth cocoons with a care sheet. Best if you already have a mesh enclosure.
• Cocoons + Rearing Cage: Everything you need. Comes with a 12" x 12" x 12" breathable mesh cage that gives the moth room to climb and spread its wings safely.

Both come in 1 cocoon or 3 cocoons or 5 cocoons. The 3-pack and 5-pack gives you a better chance of getting both a male and a female, so you could see mating and eggs. You can tell males by their large, feathery antennae

What’s included

• 1 or 3 live luna moth cocoons
• Step-by-step care sheet
• Mesh rearing cage (Cage version only)

How it works

1. Keep it cool. Until spring, store the cocoons somewhere cold, like an unheated garage or a fridge, in a container that lets air in. This mimics winter.
2. Wake it up. In spring, move the cocoons to room temperature in the cage and mist them lightly every few days.
3. Watch for emergence. Moths usually come out a few weeks after warming, often in the evening. Hang the cocoon or give the moth a stick to climb so its wings can hang down and expand.
4. Enjoy and release. Adult luna moths have no working mouthparts and don’t eat. Enjoy them for a day or two, then release them outdoors at dusk. Only release them within the luna moth’s native range in eastern North America.

Good to know

• These cocoons were raised at York Insectarium and some partnre breeders, where we’ve been experimenting with diet and locality this season. As a result, most moths will be somewhat smaller than wild luna moths, though they’re just as striking to watch emerge.
  
• Ships within Canada Only
• Available October through May
• A great project for classrooms, homeschoolers and nature lovers of all ages.

Photos courtesy of Alicia Ballard, Bill Sheehan, Michelle Chung