By Kathy Salisbury
Director, Ambler Arboretum of Temple University

Did you know there is National Moth Week! Moths range in size from smaller than your pinky nail like tube moths and fairy moths to the large sphinx and silkworm moths like the Waved Sphinx (gray above) and the Polyphemus (brown below). Both of these were found on the Arboretum grounds last summer.

I am a self-described moth-er, often setting up a deck chair and an adult beverage to observe who visits her porch light on summer nights. I can be found into the wee hours of the morning investigating the moths and trying to identify them in her Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America. I was introduced to "mothing" while a member of the Native Plant Society of NJ, where I learned of the connection between native plants and moths and participated in an annual moth night where me and fellow moth-ers gathered to marvel at these nocturnal beauties.  

If you are an early bird and not so much for hanging out with the moths around the porch light, there are day flying moths you can encounter as well. There are thousands of moth species native to the northeastern U.S. While butterflies are noted for their beauty, moths are equally diverse and patterned, from the stunning emerald color and exotic shape of the Luna moth, who relies on sweetgums, to the exact camouflage of the Tulip-Tree Beauty, moths are fascinating. 

Though underestimated and often considered an annoyance, moths are an important part of our ecosystem. As adult moths provide food for bats and their larval stage, aka caterpillars, feed nestling songbirds. Some, like the gypsy moth and dogwood borer, are known problems in the landscape. Others are pollinators.

To learn more about the incredible diversity and the important ecological role of moths, check out NationalMothWeek.org. Here you can find links to submit your findings to participate in citizen science opportunities like iNaturalist, Project Noah and others.