Subject: Luna Moths
Location: Pittsburgh
October 5, 2016 1:50 pm
I’d like to plan an outing this year where we would have a higher likelihood of seeing a Luna Moth. What is the season for the Luna Moth in Pittsburgh, PA?
Signature: David
Ed. Note: Once we learned the lovely, originally submitted image was not taken by David, it was removed and replaced with an image from our archives.
Dear David,
Your Luna Moth image is positively lovely. When did you take it?
We will request our readers who live in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio within 50 miles of Pittsburgh to write in with any personal Luna Moth sightings. According to BugGuide, Pennsylvania sightings are between April and September, but we are not certain those sightings distinguish between caterpillars and imagos. According to Ohio BugGuide data, May through August, skipping to October are months with sightings. In our own archives, we would stick to images of mating pairs as that seems like peak season, in our minds. This Swarthmore, Pennsylvania sighting is from August 5, 2016. This Pulaski Township sighting is from June 1, 2014. This reintroduction program from Chagrin Falls, Ohio occurs at the end of July to the beginning of August.
Thanks,
I did not take the photo, it was required for a submission. But I do volunteer with Venture Outdoors and we are planning some Citizen Science outings with respect to insects.
We did a wonderful Monarch banding trip last Sunday but did not see a single Monarch. We did see 2 pairs of mating Praying Mantises.
https://flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157674709386026
Thanks for your help in planning our Spring moth event!
David Bennett
Thanks for letting us know that you did NOT take the image David. Do you have permission to post the image or was it pilfered from the internet? We are very conscious of internet plagiarism and copyright infringement, and we will have to remove your submitted image and replace it with one from our own archives if you do not have permission. Our standard submission form clearly states: “By submitting an identification request and/or photo(s), you give WhatsThatBug.com permission to use your words and image(s) on their website and other WhatsThatBug.com publications. Also, you swear that you either took the photo(s) yourself or have explicit permission from the photographer or copyright holder to use the image.” We hope folks from the Pittsburgh area write in with any information they might have about sightings from previous years. You might want to check back nearer to your trip planning time to see if there are any comments submitted to this posting.
It’s not my image, and I did not intend to post, just wanted to ask a question
David Bennett
Thanks David. We will remove it and replace it with an image from our own archives.
I’m so happy to discover your website and I will be happy to post REAL pictures in the future. For example I lead a butterfly event every July that participates in the NABA count.
David Bennett
We look forward to future submissions from you David.