What did a 2015 study show about the tails?

They help luna moths escape bats

Luna Moth Quiz: No Mouth, Long Tails and a Short Adult Life

This luna moth quiz flutters through North American forests on pale green wings. Play 10 interactive questions on long twisting tails that spin to confuse bat sonar, eyespots on each wing, adults with no mouth that live about a week, caterpillars that eat walnut, hickory and birch leaves, feathery male antennae, nighttime flight and how many generations a year they have.

Start Luna Moth Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Region
Where do luna moths live?
Color
What color are luna moth wings?
Tails
What do their long hindwing tails do?
Study
What did a 2015 study show about the tails?
Eyes
What decorates each wing?
Mouth
Do adult luna moths eat?
Life
About how long do adults live?
Food
Which trees do caterpillars eat?
Antennae
How can you spot a male luna moth?
Time
When do luna moths usually fly?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Where do luna moths live?
Answer: North America
Forests from Canada to Mexico.
Q2: What color are luna moth wings?
Answer: Pale green
They glow in moonlight.
Q3: What do their long hindwing tails do?
Answer: Spin and confuse bat sonar
Bats often strike the tails.
Q4: What did a 2015 study show about the tails?
Answer: They help luna moths escape bats
Moths without tails were caught more.
Q5: What decorates each wing?
Answer: An eyespot
It may startle predators.
Q6: Do adult luna moths eat?
Answer: No, they have no mouth
They rely on stored energy.
Q7: About how long do adults live?
Answer: About a week
Mating is their goal.
Q8: Which trees do caterpillars eat?
Answer: Walnut, hickory and birch
Sweetgum is another host.
Q9: How can you spot a male luna moth?
Answer: By his large feathery antennae
They sense female scent.
Q10: When do luna moths usually fly?
Answer: At night
Lights can attract them.

Pale Green Wings in the Moonlight

The luna moth lives in forests across North America. Its wings are pale green, each with an eyespot, and the hindwings end in long twisting tails. In flight, the tails spin and confuse bat sonar, so bats often strike the tails instead of the body.

A 2015 study found that luna moths with tails escaped bats much more often than those whose tails were removed. Adult luna moths have no mouth and cannot eat. They live about a week, relying on energy stored as caterpillars, which eat leaves of walnut, hickory, birch and sweetgum.

Males have large feathery antennae that detect the scent of females. Luna moths fly at night and are often drawn to lights. In the south, there can be several generations a year, while in the north there may be only one.

What This Quiz Teaches

Insect fans will enjoy these questions.

Where luna moths live
How their tails help
Why adults cannot eat
What caterpillars eat
How males find mates

Did You Know?

Cocoons are spun among fallen leaves.
Caterpillars click their jaws as a warning.
Their wingspan is about 11 cm.
Light pollution affects moths.
They appear in spring and summer.