Moth Night

Pollinators

by Sandy Swegel

I love the things humans find to celebrate. Partying really is in our DNA. It turns out that nature lovers in East Brunswick, New Jersey actually celebrate moths for an entire WEEK and have proclaimed July 23-31 National Moth Week. At first, I thought this was a quirky group of nature lovers reliving childhood adventures of going out at night with flashlights, but Moth Nights are an international event (US, UK, Europe, Asia, Africa)! The UK has celebrated Moth Night for hundreds of years. Switzerland and Hungary have European Moth nights and I’ll bet if your town doesn’t have Moth Night now, park services will be sponsoring them soon. It’s fun (all you need are bedsheets and flashlights, maybe some blacklights), environmentally conscious (moth counts and keeping track of endangered species) and a great family event.

Why moths? This is what the National Moth Week people promote:

* Moths are among the most diverse and successful organisms on earth.

* Scientists estimate there are 150,000 to more than 500,000 moth species.

* Their colors and patterns are either dazzling or so cryptic that they define camouflage. Shapes and sizes span the gamut from as small as a pinhead to as large as an adult’s hand.

* Most moths are nocturnal, and need to be sought at night to be seen – others fly like butterflies during the day.

* Finding moths can be as simple as leaving a porch light on and checking it after dark. Serious moth aficionados use special lights and baits to attract them.

And here at BBB Seed we add one very important reason to celebrate moths: they are POLLINATORS for night-opening flowers!

Take a look at moths this week. In my garden this week there is the ubiquitous pretty but destructive cabbage moth and the amazing hummingbird hawkmoth, both visible in the daylight. You can have your own “Moth Night” by hanging up a bed sheet on your clothesline and propping a UV black light behind it. Or just sit on the front porch with the light on!

Photocredits and more info:
nationalmothweek.org/
twitter.com/mothnight
www.komar.org/faq/travel/hummingbirds/moth/
http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=18448