Actias artemis is a big, pale green moon moth from Northeast Asia and a close cousin of North America's luna moth. It lives in Korea, China, and the Russian Far East, so you won't find it in the wild in the US.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A large moth with a wingspan of roughly 3.3–4.4 in (8.5–11 cm). The wings are pale jade green with a reddish-brown leading edge on the forewings, a round eyespot on each wing, and long tails on the hindwings.
Look-alikes
Luna mothActias luna
The two look very much alike, but where they live settles it: any moon moth flying free in the US or Canada is a luna moth, while Actias artemis lives only in Northeast Asia.
Why they get mixed upThey are close relatives in the same genus, with the same pale green wings and long tails.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Broadleaf forests
- Mountain woodlands
- Range
- Native to Korea, China, and the Russian Far East. It does not occur in North America.
Behavior
- Diet
- Adults have no working mouthparts and don't eat; they live only long enough to mate and lay eggs.
- Activity
- Flies at night and comes to lights near wooded hills, mostly in summer.
Life cycle
- Caterpillar food plants
- In Korea, caterpillars feed on the leaves of maple, alder, and other broadleaf trees.
Name and classification
- About the name
- The moon moths of Japan were once treated as a subspecies of this moth. Since a 2007 study, they are usually listed as a separate species, Actias aliena, though some researchers argue the two belong to one species.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.