Come out come out, wherever you are!
Did You Know? The cecropia moth is the largest native moth in North America, boasting a wingspan of up to 7 inches!
Being so large, you might expect that Hyalophora cecropia would be one of the easier moths to find. But this species has only one generation per year, and adults have no functional mouthparts and no digestive system. No distractions allowed! Once they morph, you have about two weeks to find a live adult before it becomes fungus food.
The majority of their lives are spent as caterpillars, commonly hanging out (aka munching) in maple, cherry, and birch trees. Alright, aren’t you curious? Go look up a Cecropia caterpillar! Beautifully bizarre!
Even in urban areas, there are hundreds of species of moths. This week, citizen scientists are banding together in an initiative called National Moth Week. Mothers “moth-ers” around the world are luring moths to their cameras and uploading pictures to a variety of platforms where scientists are exploring questions about moth ranges, phenology, and diversity. We encourage you to #explorenaturebynurture in solidarity with others around the world this week, even if you just lay out a white sheet on your porch and flip on a porchlight! If you feel inspired to take pictures, upload them to a National Moth Week partner!
Read more about National Moth Week
Here’s a Science Friday article, Go Mothing! to get you started.
Here's an online butterflies and moths key if you’re curious (who wouldn’t be??) and don’t have a good field guide.