Moths Coming Out for Spring

The first moth of the season for me.  (Photo by Don Comis)

Moths are mushrooming in numbers with the warm weather.  I saw my first moth this year on April 20.  The next day I photographed five moths and missed more, then found one inside my bedroom and bathroom.

Then the temperature dropped from the 60s Fahrenheit to the 40s tonight and at midnight I only saw one tiny probable moth and one spider either in a struggle with himself or with prey, I couldn't tell.

I like photographing moths because they're important pollinators that need protection, they're under studied, they're easy to find--and there's a website that has regional experts identify your digital photographs for you, quickly and free. Your photographs provide data for a "Butterflies and Moths of North America" survey (www.butterfliesandmoths.org) and help research and conservation efforts.

I'm waiting for word on photographs of 6 species I have sent in to the site since April 20, to see if they are among the 19 moth species I've previously added to my county's list on their site (Knox County, Ohio) or if they're new ones for me. 

One example of how much volunteers are needed is the fact that in my first year of living in Ohio, last year, I brought the total of moth species listed for Knox on the site from 13 to 32.  And an expert told me that we can assume that the average county has about 500 species!

(Not to mention that I didn't know a single moth before I began this project.)

Easter Sunday Brings Chipping Sparrow and Spring!

White-throated sparrow (left) has yellow markings on its face that make this bird stand out. I think bird on right is a female house sparrow.  (Photo by Don Comis)

Photographing this moth at my porch light tonight starts my moth-hunting season, to see how many more moths I can add to the listing for Knox County, Ohio, on www.butterfliesandmoths.org.  (Photo by Don Comis)

Today, Easter Sunday, was spring to me.  I brought out the outdoor furniture and had my lunch outside with a glass of wine and was treated to many sights and sounds.  Most exciting for me was finally seeing the chipping sparrow return from the south.

I also saw my first cabbage white butterfly and my first big flock of bees and wasps of the season.  The bees and wasps were eating nectar from the flowers of an ornamental tree in my neighbor's yard.

I also saw a small bird, maybe a bluebird, check out a pileated woodpecker birdhouse, and a blackbird, probably a grackle or starling, seeming to have settled in a red-headed woodpecker birdhouse.

By nightfall, I was treated to the sight of the first moth of the season near our porch light.  Not as exciting, I saw my first house fly buzzing nearby.