Thursday, July 18, 2019

National Moth Week - 2019

 
It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since the last National Moth Week, but time flies when you’re having fun – and spending time in the natural world sure is fun. One of my fun things is capturing and photographing moths.

Some moths are active during daylight and can be found and photographed then, but to really see the variety and beauty of moths it’s best to turn on an outside light at night. The vast majority of moths are active only at night and many are easily attracted by artificial lights.

National Moth Week begins on Saturday, that’s an excellent excuse to turn on the porch light and occasionally step outside to see which moths have been drawn to the light. I catch them in old pill bottles, put them in the refrigerator overnight and photograph them in the morning. Here’s a selection of moths from the lights on our house –






































Wherever there are plants there are moths: city, town, country and wilderness. If you leave the porch light on they will come.

3 comments:

David M. Gascoigne, said...

I have been more and more interested in moths of late and have spent quite a few late nights with a sheet and a light, and friends of mine have recently started using a moth trap with black light. They sure can be a challenge to identify! I do what you do and store them overnight in the fridge, but some escape the moment I open the vial the next morning, especially the small ones. The bigger moths tend to be a little more sluggish.

Jacqueline Donnelly said...

Wow! You captured quite a collection! Thanks for the reminder about National Moth Week. I remember posting a moth quiz on my blog 4 years ago. I will have to repost it this week. Here's the link to it: https://saratogawoodswaters.blogspot.com/2015/07/moth-week-quiz-how-many-do-you-know.html

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

I love all the varieties of moths. Wonderful photos and post. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your day and weekend.