Recap: Moth Night at the Bourgeois Farm

This week is National Moth Week and to celebrate, OFT hosted our very first Moth Night at the Bourgeois Farm. 

National Moth Week is a global initiative with the purpose of celebrating the beauty, diversity, and ecological importance of moths. Moth observations submitted to iNaturalist (a free online platform to record and share observations of all living things!) during National Moth Week will be used by researchers around the world to bolster our understanding of these often understudied insects.

Mothing is when you attract, observe, and take photos of moths at night. Many moths are drawn to short-wave radiation (such as UV or blue light) because their eyes have evolved to detect the light of the moon and stars for navigation in the dark. Having a simple set-up using a white sheet and black light provides an excellent moth trap – plus a great backdrop for photos! However, not all moths are drawn to light. To attract these species, you can cook up a delicious ‘moth bait’ using rotten bananas, brown sugar, molasses, and beer and paint it onto the bark of tree trunks to mimic the sugary nectar meals that moths love