New Hope Audubon Outreach
John Petranka and Steve Hall were invited to make a joint presentation at the February 2024 meeting of the New Hope Audubon, entitled “Backyard Moths and Beyond." John discussed lepidopteran origins, various adaptions related to moth scale patterning (e.g., camouflage, startle responses, and warning coloration), the diversity of moth sizes and shapes, and the links between native plant diversity, moth diversity, and bird diversity. He illustrated the talk using photos selected from the 600+ moth species that he has documented from his back yard.
Steve discussed the remarkable ecological importance of moths, both as primary consumers and as food items for a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate consumers. He has observed decreases in both the numbers and species diversity of moths attracted to moth baits and light sheets over many years of qualitative observations. After introducing the NCBP’s Moths of North Carolina website, he compared the results of two quantitative moth trapping studies that he conducted at UNC’s Mason Farm Biological Reserve, the first in the early 1990’s and more recently in 2023. His data show a clear and concerning decrease in both the number of individuals and the number of species over that time period. Steve added that the reasons for such decreases at a relatively ecologically-stable nature preserve remain somewhat puzzling.