Moths

Moths are amazing insects. These creatures have existed for around 190 million years – longer than butterflies.  And they are an incredibly diverse group with around 170,000 different species worldwide.  North America alone is home to more than 12,000 moth species. Scientists believe there are more moth species out there yet to be discovered.  There seems to be a common misconception that moths are only active at night.  Most moths are active at night but there are many species that are diurnal or active during the day. 

Moths play a vital role in the ecosystem.  Insects are at the heart of every food web and moths play an important role in this web. Adult moths and their caterpillars are food for a wide variety of wildlife, including other insects, mammals and songbirds.  Ohio’s songbirds are dependent upon moth caterpillars as a food source, especially for feeding their nestlings. These caterpillars are so important to songbirds that many species would vanish without them, and our forests would largely fall silent.  Many caterpillars emerge just in time to be bird snacks during the fall migration.

Moths are also important pollinators, particularly those species active at night.  Moths have a diverse taste in flowers, making them a crucial ecological backup to daytime pollinators. They will also pollinate species that honeybees skip.  Nocturnal moths pollinate not only wild plants but also many of our food crops, such as apples, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, tomatoes, peppers, peas and buckwheat.  While many moths will pollinate a variety of plants there are moths that pollinate only one plant such as the yucca moth.  This moth only pollinates flowers on the yucca plant.  Plant and moth co-evolved and have a symbiotic relationship such that they are dependent on each other for survival. 

Nocturnal moths have evolved several ways to aid them in their pollination duties.  Moths have an incredible sense of smell that can detect a flower’s fragrance over very long distances.  Some moths have specialized photoreceptors in their eyes adapted to low-light conditions allowing them to see better in the darkness.  Some moths and plants have co-evolved, allowing the moth to use a combination of visual cues, such as flower shape, and strong scents to locate flowers. And some plants have adapted by producing pale or white colored flowers that reflect ambient light and pale Moon light making them more visible to the moths.

Moth populations and insects in general continue to decline worldwide.  There is habitat loss and fragmentation, and widespread use of pesticides and herbicides.  But there is also climate change with its warmer temperatures affecting when plants flower throwing them out of sync with the life cycle of their moth pollinators. Drought and fire, heavy rain events and flooding can change their overwintering conditions.  Increasing numbers of non-native and invasive plant species crowd out critical native host plants that moths need to survive.  Research is showing that artificial light at night, or light pollution, is an important contributor to declining moth populations across the globe.  Artificial lights disorient moths, and this can impair their ability to find mates, evade predators, and pollinate plants.  A recent study showed moth visits to plants were reduced by 62% in areas with artificial lighting as compared to dark areas.  Daytime pollinators, while usually more numerous, are unable to make up the difference in this lost pollination.  Per another study it is estimated that up to a third of the moths and other flying insects we see under streetlights die before morning due to increased predation or exhaustion. 

Nighttime moth pollinators are amazing!  And there are actions we can take to help them continue as important members of the ecosystem.  If you would like to learn more about moths in general, moth gardening or how to make your yard more dark-sky and moth friendly join us at our Moths of the Night program Saturday, August 23, 2025, from 10:00AM-2:00PM.