Susan,

Congrats on the sighting! I am so happy for you. I understand exactly how you feel, because I felt that same sense of happiness and awe when I first saw a Luna moth here. It was the first time I'd seen a Luna since I was a child, and I haven't seen very many since then either.

Dawn

Congrats, Susan!!!

Hey, is it too late to come by and pick up the plant I promised to come get eons ago? I tried one day, but I don't think you were home.

Lisa

Heck, no, Lisa! I probably was gone. I need to get out in the morning and move it to the driveway area for you to grab quickly in case I'm gone.

Better yet, I'll put the pot in the front garden next to the street and you won't be able to miss it. It also has some Crotalaria in it, aka Rattlebox. Seeds only, since it has died back. It is an annual, but will reseed in the pot. It is a larval host for the Wild Indigo Duskywings in addition to Baptisia.

Thanks for the congrats, Ladies. These are the most gorgeous little butterflies.

Dawn, you night be more likely to see Cecropia moths than Lunas, altho I hear reports now and again about Luna sightings. Cecropias use Button Bush as a host among other things, and I bet you have tons of BB around you, being close to the Red River.

Susan

Susan, We have buttonbush in our swamp, although the swamp itself isn't swampy much any more after repeated years of drought. I need to wander down to the swamp as soon as it is cold enough that the snakes won't be out, and see if the buttonbush survived this summer. Still, I haven't seen a Crecopia yet. As near as I can remember, I've seen Luna moths in 3 or 4 different years. One year (or possibly 2 different years) I only saw 2, and then in another year 4 and then in a different year there were 6---4 at the house and 2 at the fire station. Usually, they come and sit in the grass under the Security light after they've fulfilled their destiny and are dying, and that is when I see them. (Kinda sad, but true.)

Today was a swallowtail and buckeye day. As the weather cools and some of the fall bloomers fade, they are having to work a little harder to find nectar. I still have flowers blooming in the garden, but out in the fields, there's less and less every week as the liatris and goldenrod, which bloomed early, seem to be finishing up early too.

Dawn