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The Beauty of Moths

This Hummingbird Clearwing Moth’s transparent wing patches and long thin sensory antennae show clearly.

Butterfly populations this spring have been unusually good. Now I hope that various moth populations will also be considerably better than in the past several years. For example, the huge silk moths, including the Cecropia, Polyphemus, Promethea and Luna, have all been extremely few in number during the past 10 or more years. What is causing these dangerous dips in numbers may not even be understood by the experts.

Many people may raise their eyebrows when I mention the scarcity of some moths. Unfortunately many misguided humans feel that all moths are bad. I do realize that there are good and bad moths when it comes to growing various fruits and field crops. Fortunately, chemicals have been invented which, when used properly, will effectively combat the larvae of the relatively small number of so-called bad moths. I wonder, if the impossible could occur with all of the roughly 11,000 species of moths in the United States casting their votes to learn which people are good and which are bad for the moths’ environment – what the outcome would be!

This top view of the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth shows wing patches that lack the black veins found on the Snowberry Clearwing Moth.

We number among the many people who like to garden. In past summers we’ve picked plenty of Tomato Hornworms (caterpillars) off our tomato plants. This happens to be one of the more than 80 species of different sphinx moths that can be extremely destructive, yet so many of the sphinx moths, along with their caterpillars, are extremely beautiful. And that’s the feature of moths that interests me the most.

Distinguishing a moth from a butterfly is misunderstood by many people. It’s widely held that all moths fly at night while all butterflies fly during daylight hours. False. Quite a few moths are daytime fliers. We have a very late flowering lilac in our backyard, and on this past June 3, I photographed one of my all-time favorite moths feasting on the sweet nectar, a Hummingbird Clearwing, having a wingspan of about two inches. I was amazed at how trusting this little beauty was, allowing me to approach it to within two feet or closer.

There are some lepidopterists (those who study the scale-winged moths and butterflies) who feel that the Hummingbird Clearwing moth, along with the Snowberry Clearwing moth, both fairly common to our county and are on the wing now, have a combination of colors which may mimic bumblebees, thereby offering these moths protection from the stinging bees.

Another interesting little day-flying moth I got to know well during my years working at The Ridges Sanctuary is the tiny Spear-marked Black Moth, that I simply call the Spear-mark, having a wingspan of only one and a quarter inches. A very colorful day-flier is the Virginia Ctenucha (te-NEW-ka) moth, thought to mimic wasps with its bright head and upper thorax colors.

The bright head and shoulder colors may resemble those of a wasp and help protect the Ctenucha moth.

Another misconception dealing with the difference between a moth and a butterfly is that moths sit with their wings folded together while butterflies’ wings are held straight outward. Most often I’ve seen the large silk moths, mentioned earlier, calmly perched on our deck or siding of our house with wings held perfectly outward. A few days ago we had quite an invasion at our place of very geometrically marked Cherry Scallop Shell Moths that also sat on the ground, wings outspread, and posed nicely for photographs. Their larvae can potentially defoliate some of the wild cherry trees.

Too many believe that the wings of butterflies are brightly colored while those of moths are dull. The silk moths, underwings, some sphinx and tiger moths all would strongly dispute this fallacy. For three summers while at The Ridges Sanctuary I helped John Wilterding III collect night-flying moths as part of his ongoing insect study. Using various methods, he was able to study and add dozens of extremely colorful moths – some with colors dazzling enough to literally “knock your socks off!” – to the permanent insect collection at the sanctuary.

One very easy and interesting way to get close looks at some of the moths of the night is to choose a warm calm evening, simply hang an old white bed sheet over a tightly stretched clothesline after dark and then steadily shine a very bright light, such as a photoflood lamp, at the sheet. You’re in for a surprise at the number and variety of moths you’ll see.

The Cherry Scallop Shell Moth has colors and patterns that a cloth designer might envy.

Another simple experiment you can try, while standing near the fluttering moths, is to take a ring of keys and suddenly strongly jingle them. Some of the sounds produced will be supersonic, very bat-like, and, since some moths have ears, will cause those eared moths to spiral toward the ground and away from the predacious bats.

Occasionally in past summers we’ve accidentally left our front outdoor light on and returned home to find a multitude and wonderful variety of moths adorning the entry. Here too is the perfect place to try the “key-jingling” technique of causing a few of the moths to instantly go into a “tailspin.”

Do all moths have feathery antennae? No! Some moths have very thin antennae, although they do lack the small bulb-like swelling as occurs at the tips of a butterfly’s antennae. The rather thick, prominent antennae of the Clearwing Hummingbird moth are far from being feathery as, for example, on a Cecropia moth.

I like the field guide Moths and Caterpillars of the North Woods by Jim Sogaard, published in 2009. Another very worthy reference is Eastern Moths, a Peterson Field Guide, by Covell.

Above all, please don’t squish every moth you come upon. Admire it, photograph and try to identify it, and don’t forget to enjoy your silk pajamas and silk neckties. You can thank the Asian Silkworms (moth caterpillars) for them!