Mothers

Waved Sphinx Moth

No, I am not posting about how much I love being a mom.  MOTHers.  This is a real group of people who call themselves this (like "birders" which you will be familiar with if you have read this blog for any length of time!).  "Mothing" is their pastime, and you guessed it, they collect and identify moths!  If you search online about mothing and MOTHers, you'll learn they are mostly in the UK, and some of them are really really serious geeks about moths.  I'm not sure I'm ready to call myself a MOTHer, but I suppose our whole family is a bunch of mothers, as we have built a moth trap and have been busily trapping moths to identify (and release) since the beginning of the warm weather.

Lettered Sphinx

Lappet Moth

The moth trap was easy enough to construct- the kids helped me- just a big tupperware bin and a funnel and some wire.  We had to purchase a black light to attract the moths to the trap, but that's about it.  We have been really fascinated by all the different shapes, patterns and colors on the moths we've trapped.  Haley's favorite is a pink-and yellow moth called the Rosy Maple Moth.  She really wanted to keep one as a pet, but we nixed that suggestion.  The best part is, there's a new full-color Peterson guide to moths of the Northeastern US, so we can actually put names on most of these critters.  I have to say, I'm addicted... even if I'm not yet ready to call myself a MOTHer.

The moth trap in action

Olive Angle Shades

Yellow Slant-Line

We haven't caught any of the really huge and majestic moths yet, like the Luna Moth, IO Moth or Cerecropia Moth, but I think that's because we are in town, and not in a primarily forested location.  Next challenge is to tote our moth trap around on some of our summer trips (to Parishville, Long Island, etc) and see what we get there!

White Spotted Sable

Eastern Grass Veneer

Common Spring Moth

Agreeable Tiger Moth

Twin Spotted Sphinx