Moth Ball

I attended my first Moth Ball the other night. I dressed carefully for the event, cargo pants tucked neatly into my socks, vest pockets filled with accoutrements – UV flashlight, headlamp, field guide, spare camera battery….
You’re getting the idea.

The Moth Ball was hosted by Northern Woodlands and took place in their back yard. JoAnne Russo, moth expert extraordinaire, was on hand to direct the festivities. She had three different stations set up, each with its own light in a different spectrum. As dark approached the moths, beetles, and other insects began to gather on and around the sheets. There were hundreds of moths, tiny micro moths, large geometer moths, brown moths whose wings showed delicate and mesmerizing patterns when seen up close. We saw pink moths, green moths, orange moths. I saw a moth looking soft enough to pat next to a beetle with pincers the size of a small city.

Moths are easy to ignore. We think of them as pests in our clothes and kitchens, but their caterpillars provide the majority of food that birds feed their young. No moths, no birds. Simple as that.

They also aid in pollinating plants, although not to the same extent as bees. Those are some of the excuses for doing what we can to preserve moth habitat. But those are excuses. The real reason we need to leave a place in the world for moths is because they live here. It’s their world too.

Humans are smart enough to know how to live side by side with the other life on Earth. We need to stop being bullies, stop shoving the smaller kids out of the playground, or we will find ourselves alone, staring around an empty dance floor, wondering where everyone went.

Pale Phalaenostola Moth

Please note that I am not a moth expert. These are identified to the best of my ability, but may be incorrect.

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Thanks for looking,
Stay well, be curious, learn things.

Kate
June, 2023

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