Recruiting Moth-Watchers
I’m excited to have two very different pieces about moth-watching out in the world this month: a feature article about the moment I became a true moth-watcher (The Hours of the Moth, Yankee magazine) and a how-to for anyone wanting to have the same experience in their own backyard (Lights, Bait, and Staying Up Late, Northern Woodlands). Both issues are on newsstands now, and I hope you’ll check them out.
National Moth Week may be over for 2019, but I have so many more images to share. These pictures were all sent to me by friends and relatives who’ve been inspired to stop and look at the incredible moths that live in their part of the world. Like these ones.
First up this week, my cousins Keri and Tracy, who were wowed by a small-eyed sphinx moth that showed up on Tracy’s front door in Massachusetts back in June:
I can’t say the girls were super excited to know its name, and I don’t know if all my moth enthusiasm convinced them to hang out a sheet with collecting lights. (This is doubtful!) But I can tell you that Keri continues to send me moth photos. (I think she’s hooked!) This is an image she sent me just yesterday, from Georgia. It’s a pink-striped oakworm moth, I believe, and it’s a beauty.
You know what they say about cousins, right? They’re your first best moth-ing friends. Thanks for studying moths with me, Keri and Tracy. I hope we can do it in person one day soon. I’ll bring the lights. <3 <3
Happy National Moth Week!
One of the interesting parts of writing a book about moth-watching, besides all the local moths I’ve gotten to know, is how many people reach out to me with photos of the insects they find in their own backyards. I find this thrilling, because it means there are a lot of curious people out there. The moths below, for example, were all found and photographed by friends who weren’t even looking for moths. But they recognized something interesting when it crossed their path, snapped a picture, and sought out more information.
Which leads me to the hard part of finding these photos in my Inbox: I’m an amateur moth enthusiast and most of the time I have no clue what the insect in question is! But I have a lot of field guides—print and online, and I always have fun looking into it. Here are a couple photographs sent to me by friends in the northeastern US this summer, including two that came in just today. I hope they inspire you to look for moths in your neighborhood!
On April 7, 2020, you’re invited to an epic nighttime adventure. That’s the day my next picture book, illustrated by Ellen Harasimowicz and edited by Karen Boss at Charlesbridge Publishing, will fly into this world.
If you’ve tuned in to my recent moth adventures, here or on Instagram, this is the book that’ll help you and your favorite curious young explorers create moth adventures just like them in your own backyards. YOU’RE INVITED TO A MOTH BALL is written especially for the K-3 crowd, but if you’re reading this post, there’s something in its pages for you, too.
Revealing a new book cover is a delight that only comes ’round once every few years, so I’m going to be celebrating for weeks. The book may not be available until next spring, but there are moths out there right now, people.
Party on!
Edited to add: You’ll be able to purchase this book at your favorite local independent bookstore in April 2020, or possibly before. SUPPORT YOUR INDIES! You can also pre-order now through Amazon. Thank you!
The other night I had some friends over to look for moths. (What? You’ve never done that? I think once you read the book Ellen Harasimowicz and I are making about it, you will want to!*)
Anyway, we were moth-ing and were thrilled when three luna moths showed up at once. A friend and moth expert, Teá Kesting-Handly, pointed out that one of these lunas was not only female, but very worn in the wings. This is a good indication that she has been an adult long enough to have mated. Teá picked her up of the sheet she was hanging on and said, “Take her inside!”
“Inside my house?” I asked, a little surprised.
“Well, if you put her gently in a paper bag and leave her on the counter overnight. she might lay eggs on the inside of the bag. In the morning, you can set her free … and if there are eggs, you can raise them.”
Here’s the rest of the story …
Come to think of it, this is the beginning of a story, isn’t it? Stay tuned!
* For sneak peak images and behind-the-scenes stories from the making of the moth book this summer, check out my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds. You’re Invited to a Moth Ball, written by me and illustrated with photographs by Ellen, is coming from Charlesbridge Publishing in 2020.
