God Created Moths to Find a Mate and Host Plants in the Dark

The Wonder of Two Luna moths in A Garden

I was surprised to see a male and female Luna moth in a native plant and wildflower garden in Weldon Springs, MO (May 21). These moths do not have a mouth. So it seems that the female hatched from a cocoon in the woods, and flew to this site away from the woods not in search of nectar, but as a better place to be found by a male. This seemingly thought-out decision of the female moth, is one of many actions enabled by the hand of God in ways unrevealed. Here is more of what I know.

Antennae Receptors for Pheromones and Leaf Odors

The female moth releases a species-specific blend of sex pheromones, only after dusk, that bind to receptors in the antennae of male moths of the same species up to several miles away. A male receiving this input changes its behavior and becomes all-consumed to follow new molecules in the air, in the protection of the dark, until it finds the female. In an antennae segment, there is an organ that enables balance and orientation during the flight. The female antennae have specific receptors that detect pheromone molecules released by males, presumably triggering mating behavior when the male approaches the female. Once mated, the female no longer releases sex pheromones. The male, equipped with odorant-degrading enzymes to keep receptors in antennae available, can sense another female that is still releasing the chemicals. In the safety of the next night, the female now begins to use antennae receptors to follow chemical odors in the air from certain species of trees to determine where to lay eggs. The moth deposits about one to four eggs in each tree also using receptors in the legs and feet to “taste” that the leaves are the right ones. I have never seen more than one mature Silk moth larva in a tree. After a week, the moths die. Imagine the biology and chemistry and foreknowledge involved to provide this specificity and behavior in male and females of 160,000 species of moths and associated plants around the world. God’s loves His creation work and ensures that it reveals His glory to everyone.

“For his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” Romans 1:20