Moths
Snowberry Clearwing moth (Hemaris diffinis) by Sue Dingwell. Leran more about hummingbird moths at https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/hummingbird_moth.shtml, and read an enjoyable description of the Snowberry Clearwing moth at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/news/blog/clearing_up_confusion_around_the_snowberry_clearwing.
Moths are in the insect Order Lepidoptera, and share this Order with Butterflies. There are some 160,000 species of moths in the world, compared to 17,500 species of butterflies. In the United States, there are nearly 11,000 species of moths. There are nearly 400 species of moths in Virginia.
Though most people think of moths as being brown, and indeed many are, a surprising number of the insects have spectacular colors and intricate patterns. Even brown moths, if examined closely, display complex patterns on top of varying shades of chocolate, mahogany and chestnut. Moths can be as small as a pinhead to as large as an adult’s hand.
Moths usually fly during the night to gather nectar at flowers, but there are many day-flying moths, and many of them are brightly colored. Day-flying moths are often noticed feeding at flowers.
Horace's Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) by Virginia Witmer, Virginia CZM Program.
Luna moth (Actias luna) by Sue Dingwell and courtesy of Virginia Native Plant Society.
Did you Know?
The striking, ghostly green luna moth, like other silk moths, lack mouthparts, so they cannot feed and live only a few days as winged adults—just long enough to mate and lay eggs.
Peak moth season occurs midsummer, but many of the showiest species emerge from their cocoons earlier, such as the Luna moth (Actias luna), Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) and Cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia).
In addition to pollinating wildflowers and crop plants, moths and their caterpillars are an important food source for a variety of wildlife, including rodents, bats, lizards, frogs and toads, spiders, ants, even bears. They are an important resource to birds during the nesting season, with hatchlings eating thousands of caterpillars before even leaving the nest.
Source: Department of Systematic Biology, Entomology Section, National Museum of Natural History, incooperation with Public Inquiry Services, Smithsonian Institution
How to attract and nurture moths
You don’t need a lot of space to attract an amazing diversity of moths to your garden. Here are a few tips:
Plant larval food. Perhaps the most important way to attract and nurture moths is to provide host plants for the insects’ caterpillars. Some species are particular and will feed only on one family or even a single species of plant. Caterpillars in the sphinx moth family, for example, require snowberry, viburnum or blueberry.
Cultivate native nectar. When considering flowering plants for nectar, look for those with long tubular flowers. Night-blooming plants are important for some moth species. Be sure to grow a diversity of plants to ensure your yard offers continuous blooms from spring through autumn.
Nocturnal moths prefer nectaring on white or pale flowers that are lightly scented.
Daytime moths nectar on many of the same plants as butterflies.
Be a lazy gardener. In autumn, leave your leaves on the ground and dead vegetation standing. Both will shelter moth eggs, caterpillars, cocoons and adults during winter. If you must clean up, transfer leaves and other dead plant material to an unused corner of your yard or flower bed instead of bagging or shredding them. Read more in this article from the Chesapeake Bay Program - Life Under the Fallen Leaves
Add places to hide. Tree stumps, snags, fallen dead wood and brush piles are ideal locations for moths to overwinter, seek shelter from rain and hang their cocoons.
Avoid pesticides. Insecticides kill moths directly while herbicides kill or contaminate host and nectar plants the insects need to survive.
Turn off the lights. At night, switch off unnecessary outdoor lights. Moths that become trapped by light beams will waste valuable time that could be spent foraging or looking for mates.
Source: National Wildlife Foundation - Working the Night Shift, Far more abundant than daytime-flying butterflies, moths play key roles in garden habitats and beyond by Kelly Brenner; Apr 01, 2018
https://www.nwf.org/en/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2018/April-May/Animals/Moths
A Presentation by Doug Tallamy–Nature’s Best Hope
(Provided by the National Wildlife Federation)
Additional Resources and Information
Species Lists:
Atlas of Rare Butterflies, Skippers, Moths, Dragonflies, and Damselflies of Virginia
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species_search – learn more about particular butterfly species – such as habitat, range, additional host plants, nectar plants and more.
Books:
“Bringing Nature Home” and “Nature’s Best Hope” by Douglas Tallamy are inspiring, empowering books for anyone interested gardening. Thorough and reader-friendly, these books are packed with information about sustaining wildlife with native plants. If you have a yard, these books are for you. http://www.bringingnaturehome.net
Native Plants and Gardening for Moth and Butterflies (remember to correlate the plants lists on these site with your Virginia regional native plant guide list and the Digital Atlas of Virginia Flora):
National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder - Enter your zip code to discover the best native plants, attract butterflies and moths, and support birds and other fauna. An indispensable tool, based on the research of Dr Douglas Tallamy of the University of Delaware and in partnership with the United States Forest Service.
Native Plants and Pollinators Chart highlighting many host plants (provided by Pairie Nursery).
