Moths

Automeris io, Korscheltellus gracilis, Noctuidae

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Like moths to a flame, some people are irresistibly drawn to the woods at night. Carrying bedsheets and armed with special lights and lures, they come seeking moths. In July 2012, in 49 states and numerous countries across the world, scientists and ordinary folk alike fanned out to get a closer look at these insects. They may be less gaudy than their butterfly cousins, yet they’re anything but ordinary.

Image Credit: Automeris io, Jim Vargo, Moth Photographers Group. CC BY-NC-SA

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Meet the Scientists

Moths Podcast: Meet the Scientists

Meet Liti Haramaty and David Moskowitz, the founders of Moth Week:

Where do you work?

Liti: Co-founder, National Moth Week; Laboratory researcher, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Dave: Co-Founder, National Moth Week; Senior Vice President, EcolSciences, Inc.; PhD Program Entomology, Rutgers University.

What do you study?

Liti: I take part in studying the physiology of phytoplankton and corals, the effects of climate changes on these organisms, and biological activity of natural products from marine organisms.

Dave: I am studying the ecology, behavior and mating strategies of the Tiger spiketail dragonfly (Cordulegaster erronea).

What are three titles you would give yourself?

Liti: Scientist, Mother, Environmentalist

Dave: Ecologist, Conservationist, All Things Nature-addict

What do you like to do when you are not working?

Liti: I spend as much time as I can outside, hiking and looking for bugs.

Dave: Spend as much time outside as possible!

What do you like most about science?

Liti: Always learning new things and meeting interesting people.

Dave: The constant new discoveries.

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Extras

Moths Podcast: Extras

Images

For this podcast, host Ari Daniel Shapiro was helped by David Moskowitz,Liti Haramaty, Rose Eveleth, Erica Kramer, and Nikki Motson, who recorded the audio of the Moth Week events in New Jersey, Colorado, and Hawaii. You can see all of their images here.

Facts

You may think of moths as small, brown, and drab, pests that get into your cereal and chew holes in your sweaters. Think again! They’re amazingly diverse, from a moth that looks like a hummingbird, to the gigantic Atlas Moth, colored and patterned like an Oriental rug, to well-camouflaged dead-leaf mimics.

Many moths and butterflies use prominent eye-spots to startle would-be predators. Sometimes the spots are on the wings of the adults, but caterpillars can have eyespots, too. In the case of the moth Hemeroplanes, the caterpillar has become a convincing viper lookalike.

Moths are important pollinators of many plants, especially those that are fragrant and bloom at night. Watch an infrared video of the giant sphinx moth pollinating the ghost orchid in the swamps of Florida.

Citizen Science Connections

It’s not too early to begin planning and thinking for Moth Week 2013! The National Moth Week website is rich with resources for individuals young and old, as well as for groups. Learn about moths, mothing, and Moth Week. Learn how to sign up for an event in your area, organize an event of your own, and contribute data.

Warm up for Moth Week by learning to identify your region’s caterpillars when they emerge in the spring. This interactive key will make the job easier. You can upload your caterpillar finds to the EOL Flickr Group.