Note: Although this may not seem to be a relevant post on The Eyrie, I thought it would be a good idea to share the obsession that sparked my passion for the natural world as a whole. I hope this post will inform and excite you about moths; perhaps even making them an obsession of your own!
When you hear of moths, do you cringe at the thought of small, dingy flutterers wreaking havoc on your clothes? Thankfully, for both us and moths, that is not the case. The number of moths we consider to be pests are in a minority. Most moths are very important food sources for migrating birds, they are very important in determining the biological diversity of an area, and are very cryptic in appearance, with amazing patterns. My friend and co-founder of National Moth Week, Liti Haramaty, often likens mothing to birding. Just like people go birding, people go mothing. Just like people keep bird life lists, people keep moth life lists. Just like people attend birding conferences, people attend mothing conferences.

How should I attract moths? While this may seem like a simple question, considering the drove of moths that flood porch lights in the summer, some lights are more efficient than the typical porch light. Visible brightness does not necessarily matter at all—moths see and are attracted to ultraviolet light, and our visible spectrum of light is of little importance to them. Therefore, it is important to focus on the entire light spectrum, while looking for a significant overlap near the ultraviolet light. Mercury vapor lights are often considered the best lights, but they can be fairly expensive. Other less expensive alternatives can perform just as well. I personally use a 20-watt UV blacklight, which is relatively inexpensive in comparison. The light emits only enough visible light for you to tell it is on. If it is in full sunlight the human eye cannot tell if it is on or off. However, one must be careful when buying blacklights, as some are white bulbs coated in a dark purple color to mimic the color emitted by actual ultraviolet blacklights. In addition, I recommend hanging the blacklight or shining it onto a white bedsheet that has been tied between two trees. My setup is pictured below. You can see that I have another white light in addition, but I just use this light to better see the species of moths on the sheet, and not to attract the moths.
Estimates of the number of species of moths vary greatly. There are about 160,000 recorded species of moths, over nine times that of butterflies! However, there could be thousands left to be discovered.





Bibliography
- “Antennae Types.” University of Sydney School of Biological Sciences. Web. Retrieved 29 December 2014. http://bugs.bio.usyd.edu.au/learning/resources/Entomology/externalMorphology/antennaTypes.html
- Britton, Dr. David. “What are the differences between butterflies and moths?” Australian Museum. 20 July 2011. Web. Retrieved 29 December 2014. http://australianmuseum.net.au/What-are-the-differences-between-butterflies-and-moths
- Carver, J. H., Horton, B. H., O’Brien, R. S., & O’Connor, G. G. “The Ultraviolet Reflectivity of the Moon.” The Moon. Volume 9. Issue 3-4. Pages 295-303. Web. Retrieved 17 November 2014. http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1974Moon….9..295C/0000295.000.html
- “Lepidoptera.” Online Etymology Dictionary. Web. Retrieved 29 Dec. 2014. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=lepidoptera
- “The Meaning and Origin of the Expression: Like a Moth to a Flame.” The Phrase Finder. Web. Retrieved 15 November 2014. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/232050.html
- “Moths.” BugInfo. The Smithsonian Institution. Web. Retrieved 18 November 2014. http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/buginfo/moths.htm
- Watson, Traci. “Hawkmoths zap bats with sonic blasts from their genitals.” Nature. 3 July 2013. Web. Retrieved 29 December 2014. http://www.nature.com/news/hawkmoths-zap-bats-with-sonic-blasts-from-their-genitals-1.13333
- “UV & Blacklight.” United Nuclear. Web. Retrieved 27 November 2014. https://unitednuclear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=28_43
Somewhat of a digression… but check out this (somewhat humorous) study about moths being attracted to light. It doesn’t really explain anything about UV emission, but an interesting proposal.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20174308
Hi Corey! Sorry for the late response. Thank you for sharing that article! It’s really intriguing that the candle and the pheromones possess the same spectral emission! It makes me wonder if several factors/theories might be correct in one way or another.