Recently, I was invited to do some “mothing” with Lior Carlson of BackYardButterflies.org and NCMothProject.org.  I met Lior after a presentation at the Nash County Pollinator Symposium. Lior spoke very knowledgably about pollinator plants, butterflies, and moths which made me interested in his organization.  After speaking with him, Lior thought it would be a good idea for me to participate and photograph in an event later that night.

                  I’m no stranger to the woods or finding difficult locations not seen on a map but I was pleasantly surprised to see bright and well-placed signage pointing me down a short dirt road.  Along the road there were illuminated markers ensuring one could not go the wrong way.  Upon my arrival I was very cheerfully greeted by staff and others attending the event.  After waiting a few minutes for the sun to go down and a staff member briefing us on what was happening, what to look for, and where the stations were located, we began.

                  Lior led me around the event and was very articulate in his explanation about what we were doing and why it was setup in this particular fashion.  He introduced me to Randy Emmitt and Dean Furbish who were very keen to help people with the event.  I was not surprised with their knowledge about moths at it is part of their specialties, but I was surprised with their ability to disseminate information to someone that knows nothing about moths like me.

Citizen scientists (and of course the participating trained experts) never fail to let me down with their ingenuity.  The setup was simple yet very effective. Hanging sheets with various lighting pointed at it to have the moths fly to the area in hopes of them landing on the sheet.  I even saw an “old school” handmade tripod made of fallen tree limbs and cordage. Photographs, iNaturalist submissions, data collection, and great conversation was happening at every station simultaneously.  

                  I had a great time meeting the people involved in running the event and the ones participating. Yeah it was hot, sticky, and dark, but it’s North Carolina so it is expected. The amount of fun and knowledge being passed around made you forget about the heat and humidity. It was a great pleasure to take part in a new type of pro-environmental event especially as I was not looked upon like an outsider.  For those of you who have not participated in a mothing event I really recommend it.  Not to steal their thunder, but the coolest moths generally don’t show up until late (around 2300hrs).

                  Do yourself a favor and sign up for the next event which is FREE on 20 July 2024 at https://www.backyardbutterflies.org/moth-night/ .