Rosy Maple, Small-eyed Sphinx, Tufted Bird Dropping, Giant Leopard, Luna, Pearly Wood Nymph, Polyphemus, Pale Beauty – these are all moths found in New England. The colorful array of names reflects their dazzling diversity. In fact, there are over 2,200 species of moths in Vermont, with around 400 new species documented since 1995!
Curious to see how many different species of moths are living around you? All you need is a light-colored sheet and a light source. Hang up the sheet outside on a dry still evening. Shine a bright light to illuminate the sheet and wait to see who visits! This is an especially abundant time of year for moths, next week is National Moth Week – learn more and report your findings here.
‘Moth’–this one soft word falls so far
short of what the moth-world means;
of moths in number birthed by dark to
flock round torch and lamp and porch,
together thickening air to froth, then
cloth, then weather…
-Robert MacFarlane
