THE WILD SIDE
By Maria de Bruyn
Columnist
It’s again that time of year when people worldwide “celebrate the beauty, diversity, and ecological importance of moths” during National Moth Week. This event encourages citizen scientists to watch for and photograph moths during the day and night for a global surveying project. When the “moth-ers” submit their photos to the organizers of the international event, they help scientists who study the diversity, distribution and ecology of moths around the world. In 2024, 170,000 global participants submitted more than 2 million observations from 80 countries.
This year, the celebratory and educational event is taking place from 19 to 27 July and has expanded to more than 90 countries. Participation is open to everyone. You can join “officially” as an individual by registering a “private” event on the online map. Organizations also register their events there.
Organized group sessions may include educational and instructional activities. So far three are being organized locally:
- An iNaturalist moth week project offers an NC Moth Week Badge to participants who photograph 10 moth species. They also have downloadable online resources such as a moth ID sheet, a coloring book and lesson plans.
- Backyard Butterflies will hold its 7th Annual Moth Night on July 19th from 8:30-11:30 p.m. in Hillsborough. So far this is the only event listed for our area on the National Moth Week map, but more may be added.
- The Triangle Land Conservancy is organizing a Moth Night at the Brumley South Nature Preserve from 8:30-11:00 p.m. on July 26th.
Left photo: Hummingbird clearwing moth. Right photo: Snowberry clearwing moth. Both photos by ©Maria de Bruyn.
The variety of moths we can see is amazing. We may think of them as insects that only come out at night, but many can be spotted during the day. Among the more unusual moths are those that people might mistake for mini-birds — the clearwing moths.
I spotted my first one this year on July 2nd when it was visiting my blooming butterfly bush. The visitor was a hummingbird clearwing moth, with a greenish-yellow upper body and dark hindquarters. They can be distinguished from the snowberry clearwing moths by their lack of a dark stripe extending through the eye and down along the moth’s side.
Left photo: Milkweed tussock moth caterpillar. Right photo: Saddleback moth caterpillar. Both photos by ©Maria de Bruyn.
Not only spottings of full-grown moths are requested for National Moth Week. Photos of moth caterpillars are welcome as well. Some of them look quite elaborate as if they were decorated to create a good impression. Both children and adults should avoid handling any caterpillars, however. Some of them, such as the saddleback moth caterpillar seen above, can cause severe allergic reactions requiring immediate medical care. “Look but don’t touch” should be a Moth Week motto.
Some tips for spotting moths can be found in an article published in The Local Reporter in 2023. If you participate in Moth Week, consider sending some of your moth photos to this newspaper — they would be most welcome!
Maria de Bruyn participates in nature-oriented citizen science projects and volunteers for the Orange County Senior Center. See more of her photos on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bruynmariade/), Blue Sky (@mdb2024.bsky.social), and in blogs at https://mybeautifulworldblog.com. This reporter can be reached at information@thelocalreporter.press.
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