Welcome to Pollinator Week!

 

This week is Pollinator week! And this year’s theme is Life on a Leaf: Celebrating Caterpillars and Host Plants. The theme highlights the importance of lepidoptera in the United States – the nearly 11,000 species of moths and 750 species of butterflies that pollinate flowers – and the  plant species they depend on for breeding, feeding, and overwintering.

This year’s “Pollinator of the Year” is the Swallowtail Butterfly. There are some thirty species of the Swallowtail here in the U.S. and nearly 600 species around the world – here’s the one I commonly see in my garden. You can find swallowtails around gardens, lilac trees, and puddles - they love slurping up salts from the mud. 

Pollinator Week is also your chance to get involved in a community science project: Pollinator Bioblitz. All you have to do is sign in on your iNaturalist account and join the project. (If you don’t have an iNaturalist account, it’s pretty easy to set up.) Then, during pollinator week, take photos of the bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, hoverflies, hummingbirds, and bats you see flying around and landing on flowers.  

Explore Outdoors ~ Leps in the Garden

 Butterflies and moths are both members of the order, Lepidoptera. The name is derived from the Greek and means "scaly winged." When you look closely, you can see the dust-like scales that cover the wings. Both butterflies and moths play an important role in the environment. Their larvae - caterpillars - are an important food source for birds. The adults pollinate plants. The major difference? Butterflies fly during the day, and moths fly at night - but I found both in my garden one morning.

 

 

 

 

 

Keeping Count of Pollinators

 

The Great Pollinator Count (Community Science Counts!) 

by Susan Edwards Richmond; illus. by Stephanie Fizer Coleman 

32 pages; ages 4-8

Margaret Quinlin Books/Peachtree, 2025

One of the things I do every summer is count pollinators for the Great Sunflower Project, a community science project that I’ve been participating in since … oh, my - 2009! So I was really, really looking forward to Susan Richmond’s newest book about pollinator counts, and she doesn’t disappoint.

Mellie and her friends are part of a science club and they’re planning to count pollinators. The science club advisor, aptly named Ms. Bombus (awesome nod to buzzy sounds and bumblebees!) pairs Mellie with a kid who loves dinosaurs and hates stinging insects. As they count, readers are introduced to honeybees and small bees, carpenter bees and bumblebees, flies and wasps and even a hummingbird moth. Back matter highlights the insects in the book and lists the flowers in the school’s pollinator garden.

Back around Earth Day, Susan joined a bunch of us for “The Fifth Annual GROG Arthropod Roundtable” where we chatted about bugs we love (and those we don’t). She talked a bit about why she wrote The Great Pollinator Count.

“Young children are eager to explore their environment and are natural scientists,” she said, adding that many children (and adults) are afraid of bees and wasps. While respect and caution are a healthy response towards stinging insects, Susan wanted folks to appreciate all pollinators, not just the butterflies. A perfect reason for writing a book … but what’s the hook?

“When I learned that Georgia conducted an annual insect pollinator census, which includes schoolchildren, I knew this would be my gateway!” What better than a pollinator count! Pollinator counts are becoming more common, and what began as a Georgia community science project, The Great Southeast Pollinator Census has now expanded to include four more states: North and South Carolina, Florida, and Alabama. 

“May this notion of promoting a healthy pollinator population continue to grow!” Susan says.     

Pollinator Week Activity: visit a flowery meadow or a garden and count the pollinators you see in 10 minutes.

Susan is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. You can find out more about her at her website at www.susanedwardsrichmond.com  

Explore Outdoors ~ noisy moth!

 So there I am in my garden on a quiet morning, listening to the birds and the low hum of bees - when a flirrrr of wings goes past. It sounds like a hummingbird with a muffler...

 

but it's not. It's a moth. A hummingbird moth. Sucking all the yummy nectar out of the monarda before the hummingbirds have finished their first cup of coffee.

I know, I know. I post a photo of them every summer. But hey! They are so cool. Look at that looong proboscis. It's like a giant straw that they uncurl to sip sugary stuff. 

Hummingbird moths are hefty and hairy, and even have little fan tails. And their wings beat in a blur. If this one stopped for just a second, you'd notice that the middle part of the wing is clear, giving it the name "clearwing".

Keep your eyes open for hummingbird moths 

hanging out in your neighborhood this week.

Explore Outdoors ~ Garden Cats

 A couple weeks ago, while counting pollinators for the Great Sunflower Project, I noticed this handsome caterpillar clinging to a stem in the fleabane. I was attracted to its stripes - beautiful colors! But when I asked my lepidoptera friend what it was, she said "what color are the spiracles?" Those are the tiny breathing holes on the side. I have no idea, because I can't find this sneaky cat now!

 

This week take a closer look at the caterpillars hanging out on the stems and leaves of plants around your yard. You might discover unexpected beauty!

Book reviews are on vacation for a couple weeks ~ see you next Wednesday for some more backyard science exploration.

Explore Outdoors ~ My, What a Long Tongue You Have!

 Have you ever watched a butterfly (or a moth) up close as it slurps up nectar from a flower? If so, you've noticed that it has a very long ...

 

... tongue! 

Skipper: The better to get into those tubular clover flowers, my dear!

 

Actually, butterflies - and moths - don't have tongues. What they have is a proboscis, a long, straw-like tube that comes in handy when you're trying to drink sweet stuff out of flowers. Imagine having your mouth extended into a long tube! 

And then imagine tasting with your feet. Though, to be fair, moths and butterflies can sense aromas with their antennae - and a good part of "taste" is what we smell. 

This week, check out butterflies and day-flying moths visiting flowers in your neighborhood. 

Try to get close without bothering them, and check out their proboscises (and yes, that is the plural!) Here are a couple of moths I've seen tasting flowers in and around my garden: 

 

Hummingbird moth on teasel

Virginia Ctenucha moth (say "ten-OOCH-ah")

Explore Outdoors ~ Hummingbird Moths!

It's a bird! It's a plane! Nope, it's a hummingbird moth! Look at that long, curly tongue and those clear see-through wings. And there, at the back end, it almost looks like a tail. These little guys are almost as big as hummingbirds and even make a low hum as their wings whir.

If you are lucky enough to come across one of these moths, spend some time watching them. The good folks over at the Caterpillar Lab have some photos of the babies...

Bugs are in Danger!

One last bug book for the month!

Bugs in Danger
by Mark Kurlansky; illus. by Jia Liu
176 pages; ages 8 - 12
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2019

“If we care about the health of our planet, we can’t choose which animals’ lives we want to save,” writes author Mark Kurlansky. “We have to care about them all.” And that includes insects, because they play an important role in the earth’s ecology. But there’s a problem: populations of fireflies, bees, butterflies, and ladybugs have been declining.

Kurlansky divides his book into four parts. In part one, he introduces the insect world, shows how bugs fit in and highlights their diversity. He talks about the biggest threats to insects: habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, and climate change. Then he talks about how insects evolved with plants – not just bees, but butterflies, beetles, and flies. And he shares the secret of why it’s so hard to sneak up on a fly.

Part two focuses on bees. There are a lot of kinds of bees, he writes. About 25,000 bee species have been catalogued and scientists have discovered another 40,000 that have yet to be named. He takes a close look at bee life, focusing on honey bees – which were introduced into North America in 1622 by Europeans.  At that time there were somewhere near 5,000 native bee species. Unfortunately, Kurlansky doesn’t address the impact of introduced honey bees on native bees. This is a shame, because native bees pollinate many of the crops we eat.

In the third part, Kurlansky introduces beetles as pollinators and beneficial (pest-controlling) insects. Native ladybug populations are in decline even as gardeners and farmers seek alternatives to insecticides. Even fireflies are vanishing.

Part four is all about the leps: butterflies and moths. He highlights monarchs, introduces endangered species, and discusses efforts to save butterflies. In the final chapters he mentions more insects that are endangered: dragonflies, grasshoppers, stoneflies. Individual insects may be small, but their impact in ecological systems is profound. A decline in insect population affects entire food webs.

The biggest problem, by far, is the impact of humans on natural ecosystems. There are, fortunately, things everyone can do to keep the world a safe place for bugs:

1. stop squashing bugs when you see them!
2. grow flowers to attract pollinators.
3. if you have fireflies, turn off floodlights at night.
4. Stop Using Pesticides!
5. leave leaf litter and twigs on the ground beneath trees.

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ Looking for Lepidoptera

Not only is this month "Bug Month" for Archimedes  - it's #pollinatorweek!



Today we're Looking for Lepidoptera ~ butterflies and moths. 

 

 There are so many kinds of butterflies and moths, as you can see here. See how many different kinds you can find: 

• small
• large
• fancy
• plain
•  night-flier
• act like hummingbird
• larva
• feathery antennae

As always, if you have a camera, capture the butterflies, moths, and caterpillars you see in photos. Or draw some pictures and share them with your friends.

Welcome to Pollinator Week

This week is National Pollinator Week ~ a time to celebrate pollinators and spread the word about what you can do to protect them.

Pollination happens when pollen is moved within a flower or is carried from one flower to another of the same species. It leads to fertilization which leads to apples or tomatoes or...

Here's the stuff you need to know: pollination is necessary for healthy and productive native and agricultural ecosystems.

Did you know that:

• About 75% of all flowering plant species need the help of  animals to move their heavy pollen grains from plant to plant for fertilization.
• About 1,000 of all pollinators are vertebrates such as birds, bats, and small mammals.
• Most pollinators (about 200,000 species) are beneficial insects such as flies, beetles, wasps, ants, butterflies, moths, and bees.

You can learn all about pollinators over at the Pollinator Partnership website where you can also download this cool poster.

And download fact sheets and more.

You're Invited to a Moth Ball!

You're Invited to a Moth Ball: A Nighttime Insect Celebration 
by Loree Burns; illus by Ellen Harasimowicz
40 pages; ages 5 - 8
Charlesbridge, 2020

theme: insects, STEAM, summer

You don’t know what a moth ball is? Please come anyway! You can learn as we go.

A moth ball, it turns out, isn’t a dance with tuxedos and long gowns. It’s a night-time party that celebrates moths! And this newest book by Loree Burns shows how you can get involved. You don’t need much: a light source, some moth food, and about a ton of curiosity. Ellen Harasimowicz provides wonderful photos of kids searching for moths and a moth-collecting station.

What I like about this book: It’s about bugs! I love the title page, designed as an invitation with an RSVP at the bottom. I love the playful approach: we’re going to have a ball! And I like the back matter where you can find out more about moths, how to set up your very own moth ball, and a recipe for moth bait. Loree includes an author’s note about raising moth eggs, and Ellen shares some notes about photographing moths.

Loree graciously answered One Question by email earlier this week:

Archimedes: Of all the moths you've met during your evening "Moth Balls", do you have any favorites? And what is it about them that you find so fascinating?

Loree: It's truly hard to pick a favorite moth, partly because there are so many fascinating and unexpected species and partly because I've only seen a tiny subset of the ones I know are out there. I am sure I'll have a different answer to this question at the end of the summer moth-watching season.

rosy maple moth ~ cute, fuzzy guy!

That said, I have a special affection for the rosy maple moth. It's the moth that first surprised me, because I stumbled on one during the day (it was resting on a daisy stem, and I happened to be in the garden cutting daisies) and because it is gorgeous. I've heard people call them cotton candy moths, and I think it's an appropriate moniker for a creature so yellow and pink! The other appealing characteristic of the rosy maple moth is that they're super common. Now that I routinely have lights on in my yard at night, I see them all the time. So it's a moth beginners can expect to see, too.

Beyond the Books:

Check out the differences between moths and butterflies at this page hosted by the Australian Museum.

Young moth-watchers can collect important data to help scientists understand more about moths. Here’s one study done by Grant, and here’s how you can get involved as a citizen scientist during National Moth Week.

Go mothing! Here’s tips to get you started from Science Friday.

Loree is a member of #STEAMTeam2020. You can find out more about her at her website.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy  provided by the publisher.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ looking for Lepidoptera

One morning a few years ago, I discovered an Io moth outside my front door. Find out more about them at the BioKids website.

Just in Time for Halloween: Vampire Moths!

Butterflies have scratchy feet, but they don't bite. At least that's what my lepidopterist friend tells kids before she puts a monarch butterfly on their hand. Except... it turns out that there is a moth that bites. The (scary music) Vampire Moth!

STEM Friday: Luna Moths

One night while I was writing, a huge moth flew into my screen. Its wings were of the palest jade and spanned the width of my hand. It hung around - entranced by the glow of my desk lamp - long enough for me to find a field guide and learn that it was a luna moth. A moth? How could such a beautiful creature be a moth? I thought moths were hump-backed, earth-toned drab sisters to their more colorful butterfly cousins.

Luna Moths are named for the moon. One of my favorite books for kids is A Luna Moth's Life by John Himmelman (Children's Press). It's old - published in 1998 - but a gentle introduction to a gorgeous night flier. And it might be just the book that encourages your shy-of-the-dark kid to head out into the night looking for moths.

Himmelman follows the life of a luna moth, beginning with hatching from an egg to overwintering as a cocoon wrapped in a leaf, to emerging and laying her own eggs. It's simplified, and the birds never get the bug, but it's a great book for sitting on the couch and reading and then saying, "hey! why don't we go look for some luna moths!"

Sandra Markles's book, Luna Moths: Masters of Change (Lerner, 2008) is more recent and aimed at older readers - from 7 on up. Markle is a close observer and introduces readers to luna moths from A (antennae) to W (wings). There are close-up photos and every page has a "moth fact". Did you know that luna moths are only found in North America?

Markle gives the inside scoop on luna moth anatomy. Lunas have brains and really long hearts, and nerves ... but where's the stomach? They don't have a stomach! Oh, says Markle - that's because the adults don't eat. Want to know where Lunas lay their eggs? She's got it in there. Want to know how they make that leaf-cover to protect their cocoon all winter? She's got that too.  A great go-to reference for moth week.

Check out more neat books and science resources at STEM Friday.
Also check out some other cool nonfiction reading over at Nonfiction Monday.

The Poetry of Moths

on the one ton temple bell

a moon-moth, folded into sleep

sits still

(Buson, 1716-84)

Moths inspire poetry ... who hasn't been inspired to write about the moth, attracted to light, singeing the tips of its wings? Or, like the ancient haiku master, the contrast between the one ton bell and the fragile moth?

You don't have to be ancient to write moth poetry. Nor do you have to live in an exotic location. Anywhere you find moths, you'll find the inspiration for poetry. You might try your hand at haiku:

Hidden in plain sight

a gray moth on gray tree bark

waits for night to fall

(from A Haiku Each Day)

Haiku are short - like postcards they give a snapshot glimpse into nature. Traditionally, haiku is written in three lines with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the last. But if your haiku has fewer syllables, don't worry - not every haiku poet follows the rules.

Try your hand at other kinds of poetry: 

• a list poem - all the things you know about moths
• an acrostic - write M, O, T, H down the page and then use each letter to begin that line
• something rhyming and fun

In Insectlopedia, Douglas Florian begins his poem about the Io moth like this: "The io moth/ Has mam-moth eyes/ That are not real-/ They're a disguise..."

 
Lisa Olstein has devoted an entire chapbook to poetry about living with moths. Reading Lost Alphabet (Copper Canyon Press, 2009) is like leafing through a lepidopterists's journal. The prose poems reflect on wings, attracting moths to a sheet using a lantern, classification, caterpillars hatching from eggs and shedding skins. But at its heart, it's about people.

In one poem Olstein's character notes: "I have learned to peer at specimens through a small crack in the center of my fist." This is actually a good trick for getting small things in focus. In another poem her character observes a moth wing close up. "What appears smooth is feathered. What appears feathered is scaled." Moths, it seems, wear armor on their wings.

The art of Moths

 If you think painting moths (and butterflies) is just about getting the right colors, or the right brush, think again. Sherry Nelson, author of Painting Butterflies and Blooms (North Light Books, 2010) grounds her art in field work. Lots of it. She follows moths with her camera, or just watches them fly, grabbing quick sketches when they stop to feed at a flower.

Art is about close observation - which is where it connects with science. Nelson discusses colors, brushes and has a great section on "butterfly basics" that can apply to moths as well (body parts, wing features...). Then she gives a mini-lesson on how to paint butterfly - or moth- wings. There's a huge section on painting butterflies, followed by a detailed but not-so-huge section on how to paint the moths.

"As a rule of thumb," writes Nelson, "for every 10 butterfly species there are at least 100 moth species." Many of those are drab but, she says, there are some truly spectacular ones that you can find in your own back yard. For example: the Snowberry Clearwing, that moth that looks like a bumblebee and flies like a hummingbird.

Like butterflies, moths have a diversity of characteristics. Some have furry antennae. Some have iridescent wings (don't worry, she tells you how to paint those in the butterfly wing section). She introduces readers to five families of moth:

• Saturniidaue - the giant silk moths
• Lasiocampidae - tent caterpillars and lappet moths
• Geometridae - inchworms, emeralds and waves, all with fabulous wing shapes and patterns
• Arctiidae - tiger moths and lichen moths and even clear-winged wasp moths that can fool you into thinking they're the real thing
• Noctuidae - mostly night fliers

 Even if you never pick up a paintbrush, this is a fun book to look through.

Get to Know the Moths

The best way to learn the moths is to hang out with them. Watch them. Sketch them or take photos. Find out where they dine and what they eat for dinner. That means picking up a field guide... so you know where to look and who you're looking for.

If you're looking for something more introductory than a field guide, a story to catch the imagination of a very young child and entice him to go moth-watching, there's no better guide than Crinkleroot. Jim Arnosky's "Crinkleroot" books are just plain fun, and you can usually find them at a library. In Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Butterflies and Moths children will get to know a little anatomy, how they eat, and a bit about their life cycle.

Then (if you want to skip the butterfly pages) they can head into the woods at night to find some moths. Arnosky's illustrated five of the "giant" moths": Sphinx, Polyphemus, Luna, Cecropia, and Regal moths.

For slightly older children who want to know more about the moths they see, check out a copy of Eyewitness Explorers Butterflies and Moths by John Feltwell (Dorling Kindersley). This is an almost-pocket-sized book, easier to carry around than the bigger, more detailed DK moth & butterfly book. Also, it's got more hands-on activities: make a moth kite, go on an egg hunt, make a caterpillar observation cage. And it encourages children to make a butterfly/moth garden.

In addition to the usual lep (lepidoptera) info, this book shows how they fly, how moth eyes work at night, and gives close-up views of hairy legs, antennae, and long tongues. It encourages kids to take a closer look at the leps around them, and to carry a handlens and a sketchbook and colored pencils. It's almost like having a classroom in a book...

Celebrate Moths this Week!

This week is the first ever ...

National Moth Week

So get out of the house and join your friends and neighbors under the street lights, porch lights or even the lights down at the gas station to see who’s flying around at night. You can set up a sheet and light to attract moths to your backyard –  and just in case it rains, stock up on a few books about moths. 

You don’t even have to wait until dark- last week I found a clearwing “hummingbird” moth visiting the bee balm, right alongside the bumblebees it mimics.

Check out Moth Night Life

Io moth found outside my door

There’s a lot of activity outside my window at night; moths wheel and flutter through the starlit sky, sometimes banging against the screen near my desk. I’d like to think they’re curious about what I’m writing, but I know they’re just attracted the light on my desk.

Like their butterfly cousins, moths begin their lives as leaf-munching caterpillars. They eat, grow, shed their skin and, when they’re ready, spin a silk cocoon and pupate.

check out the tongue & antennae on this guy!

Like their butterfly cousins, moths have long curling tongues. They travel from flower to flower drinking nectar and picking up pollen on their hairy bodies and carrying that pollen to the next plant. But most moths fly at night, so they’re on the look-out for pale-colored or white flowers like evening primrose and moonflower that glow in the moonlight …  and use sweet scents to attract their mothy pollinators.

Moths have been around for a long time – about 50 million years. During that time some of them have developed special pollinator relationships with flowers, like the yucca moth and yucca flowers.

moth fossil (provided by PRI)

If you want to study moths, make a light sheet. All you need is an old white sheet, a clothesline, some clothespins and rocks, and a bright flashlight. Pin the sheet to the clothesline so one end lies on the ground. Weight it down with rocks. Prop the flashlight on one side of the sheet so it casts a plate-sized circle of light on the cloth (use phone books to adjust the angle). When it’s dark, switch on the light, and then watch the moths that come to visit.

For more on moths, visit my “Archimedes Notebook” column in Ithaca Child this month. And check out “National Moth Week” – a first-ever event happening July 23-29. 

Remember to check out more science posts, book reviews and resources at STEM Friday.