National Moth Week
During my summer internship for VCE Wise County, I was given the opportunity to research and present on moths. While researching, I learned how important moths are as pollinators. Being active primarily at night, the importance of moths is often overlooked. Once the sun sets, these insects are the primary pollinators for many plants. Furthermore, I was surprised to learn that moths have higher pollination rates than many day-time pollinators such as butterflies. For this reason, moths are incredibly important for our gardens & environment.
To spread awareness of their importance, National Moth Week was created over a decade ago for communities all around the world to get involved. It takes place during the last full week of July which was last week for us. Locally, our High Knob Virginia Master Naturalists group celebrated with a Moth Night event Thursday night in Pound, VA.
The event started with a butterfly hike until the sunset. We then set up UV lights that moths are highly attracted to. We observed a few smaller moths and even some non-moth insects. unfortunately, we got rained out and had to wrap things up early. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity & experience to get involved with our local master naturalists. Overall, I hope this post brings to light this overlooked but pivotal pollinator.
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