Moths are Better

July 10, 2026

I have a bumper sticker that says “moths are better”, and I stand by that hot take.

(Better than /what/ though is when things get interesting. Better than… Television? Doomscrolling? Despair? Yes, yes, and yes. 💚)

Field guides often use the word “common” to describe critters who aren’t especially rare. And technically Lunas are “common”. But I feel this is somewhere the English language falls down, because I have not once encountered a Luna and thought to myself “how common”. BLAZAM! is more like it. Or perhaps “Holy Miyazakis!!”

Pic 1, I believe, is a gentleman Luna. The antennae of male giant silkworm moths tend to be larger and more floofily than the ladies’ ones, the better to detect her pheromones with.

Luna moths won’t eat at all in this form. Which I can’t relate to, as simply while writing about this I have eaten a handful of fresh strawberries and some tortilla chips. But lunas do all their eating when they are caterpillars. They live in this glorious shape only for a week or two. Just long enough to seek out a mate and lay eggs and start the cycle over again. Beautiful, focused, results-oriented.

🌒🦋🥚🌘 // I don’t hand rear moths or flutterbys; my understanding is they don’t do well when released back outdoors, though I’m always open to newer more optimistic info. These are wild Lunas spotted at rest during the day, during our daily walks of the woods. And by “walk” I mean “fast trot” as after a slow start, the mosquitos are finally and abundantly awake.

A Luna once flew past me late in the evening, and in the dim light, its light coloured wings seemed nearly to glow. On the basis of glimpses of giant silk moths, the high up chirps of flying squirrels in treetops, and the flickers of fireflies alone, belief in nighttime faeries seems absolutely rational.

Have a wonderful weekend folks! May you find plenty of common magic ✨