National Moth Week

National Moth Week

19 – 27 July 2025

This month was National Moth Week from 19 to 27 July 2025. Here on Norfolk Island there are many moths that are seen on our windows at night or fluttering around our outside lights around our homes, businesses and public places with lighting.

I am now very little about the endemic moths of Norfolk Island, but I have joined the Norfolk Island Invertebrates Facebook page, and I have posted some of my photos and enjoy learning about other images also shared on this page. I are very fortunate to have James Tweed and specialist with fantastic knowledge of Norfolk Island insects assist with naming the bugs and insects the locals find and photograph.

You can check out this page on this Facebook page link.

Norfolk Island Invertebrates | Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199038093221338

When I was young, I always thought Moths are the Butterflies of the Night and often dark in colour. Moths plays are important, they pollinate flowers and plants. They are also part of the food chain and eaten by the Norfolk Island Morepork Owl. I have been told a good place to see a Morepork Owl is up Mt Pitt when the radar airport light is on at night as the light attracts moths and insects, which the owls will hunt.

Moths can very pretty with wonderful patterns on their wings. Other look like leaves or bark and blend into their habitat, such as trees or bushes. It is often the larger moths I spot on my windows at night, but there are also many small moths as well.

Not all moths are native to Norfolk Island, there are also pest moths, such as the Guava moth (Coscinoptycha improbana, Lepidoptera: Carposinidae). This moth is considered by many locals significant threat to food security. The Guava moth is a native of Australia.

Another pest is the Fruit Piercing Moth. This is a large very pretty moth, and a few years ago, one arrived at our house, and I captured and photographed the moth and learnt this moth damages fruit as adult moth and as a larvae.

Army grub also has a moth, which swam our windows at night when the larvae or caterpillar grub merges and an adult moth. Army grub eats grass roots and caterpillars and be seen crawling along the ground in large numbers when weather conditions promote their breeding season.

In 1976 -1977 there was a set of Norfolk Island postage stamps issued with images of moths and butterflies. It is always interesting looking at the stamps learning more about the Norfolk Island endemic species. I do not have any books with moths, but I find the Facebook page detailed above very helpful.

Caring for our nocturnal insects it is important to mindful of non essential lights at night. This month I have shared links to the International Dark Skies Association (IDSA) with advice about smart lighting and reducing light pollution to protect our unique environment. It is important to be mindful and care for Our Norfolk Island Magical Dark Skies.

Facebook DarkSky International

https://www.facebook.com/darksky.intl

The following is a link from the IDSA

It’s National Moth Week! Did you know that moths are the largest group of night pollinators? Moths pollinate flowers, aiding seed production and supporting thriving ecosystems.

Let's be mindful of artificial light at night to protect these night workers by following the Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting at Night.

Visit https://bit.ly/4d61AtX for a video by @darkskyoregon about how artificial light impacts moths.

#DarkSky #LightPollution #NightPollinators #Moths

The next extracts relate to National Moth Week and nighttime nature and additional information about Moths and activities and projects to assist with learning about Moths.

https://nationalmothweek.org/

National Moth Week – Exploring Nighttime Nature

What is Mothing and National Moth Week?

Mothing is the practice of attracting, observing, photographing, identifying, and documenting moths for enjoyment or scientific study.

National Moth Week is an annual, global event that invites people of all ages and backgrounds to participate in the mothing hobby, by sharing photos of moths they find for citizen science.

These contributions help researchers study moth diversity, distribution, and ecology worldwide!

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/moth-week/

National Moth Week (Jul 19th to Jul 27th) | Days Of The Year

Moths might not have the best reputation; you could argue they’re a little underappreciated. The people behind National Moth Week would almost certainly argue that moths deserve more credit and appreciation than they get. And that’s what National Moth Week is all about. The aim is to celebrate the beauty, distinctiveness and life cycles of moths and their habitats. It’s a time to learn about moths and takes place each year.

Moths are fascinating and unknown, which is quite incredible for such a ubiquitous creature. There are between 150,000 and 500,000 species of moths and we have a lot left to learn about them. National Moth Week offers a unique opportunity to learn about them more.

It’s also a chance to contribute to the overall understanding we have of moths and how they life. You’re encouraged to become a Citizen Scientist and add data about moths to the biological data depositories that are found online. The more information that can be gathered, the better.

So, as well as celebrating and appreciating moths, National Moth Week is also about finding out more about them because there’s plenty left for us to learn a lot about the species around the world.

History of National Moth Week

National Moth Week began as an event in 2012, and it was created by the Friends of the East Brunswick (NJ) Environmental Commission. It’s an organization that focuses on helping with environmental education for children and adults, as well as promoting conservation.

The aim was to promote not only an appreciation of moths, but also the citizen science project that’s sprung up around it. This has gone on to become one of the biggest and most successful citizen science projects in the world. And that’s because it’s so easy for people of all ages to get involved.

The success of the project up to now is inspiring and the organizers believe even more people can and will get involved as National Moth Week continues to grow year on year since its inception.

How to Celebrate National Moth Week

The best way to celebrate National Moth Week is to head to nationalmothweek.org and sign up to be part of the citizen project. There are lots of local events that you can attend too, but you don’t need to leave your own garden to get involved. It’s as easy as putting on an outdoor light when it gets dark and waiting for the moths to arrive.

You can contribute photos and things like that to the website because all of the data and information you can possibly provide is valuable and helpful to the people running things. It’s also a lot of fun for parents to get involved by doing this with your children. And it’s a chance for everyone to learn something new.

You might not have known it, but moths are among the most diverse and successful creatures on the face of the Earth and that’s not about to change. So, make the most of National Moth Week and learn more about these amazing and durable creatures.

Moths and Butterflies are known as Lepidoptera.

This is an extract from the Wikipedia describing Lepidoptera or winged insects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera - Wikipedia

Lepidoptera or lepidopterans is an order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. Lepidopteran species are characterized by more than three derived features. The most apparent is the presence of scales that cover the bodies, large triangular wings, and a proboscis for siphoning nectars. The scales are modified, flattened "hairs", and give butterflies and moths their wide variety of colors and patterns. Almost all species have some form of membranous wings, except for a few that have reduced wings or are wingless. Mating and the laying of eggs is normally performed near or on host plants for the larvae. Like most other insects, butterflies and moths are holometabolous, meaning they undergo complete metamorphosis. The larvae are commonly called caterpillars, and are completely different from their adult moth or butterfly forms, having a cylindrical body with a well-developed head, mandible mouth parts, three pairs of thoracic legs and from none up to five pairs of prolegs. As they grow, these larvae change in appearance, going through a series of stages called instars. Once fully matured, the larva develops into a pupa. A few butterflies and many moth species spin a silk casing or cocoon for protection prior to pupating, while others do not, instead going underground.^[4] A butterfly pupa, called a chrysalis, has a hard skin, usually with no cocoon. Once the pupa has completed its metamorphosis, a sexually mature adult emerges.

Attached are a few images of moths I have photographed here on Norfolk Island and also images of the pest moth, the Fruit Piercing Moth. Next time you see moths, take the time to have a closer use and you can also photograph the moths you find and learn about this night time insect

Betty Matthews

1 August 2025