07/25/2014

‘Moth-ers’ Celebrate Less-Loved Lepidopterans

10:09 minutes

Luna moth ("Actias luna"). Photo by Andrei Sourakov
Luna moth (“Actias luna”). Photo by Andrei Sourakov

It’s National Moth Week, and all over the country moth enthusiasts, or “moth-ers,” can be found holding flashlights to white sheets and painting beer-laced bait on trees in hopes of attracting butterflies’ neglected cousins of the night. Elena Tartaglia, a co-founder of National Moth Week, talks about the strange and beautiful insects, and the best ways to observe them.

Check out this SciFri story about the Io moth, which symbolizes National Moth Week.

Segment Guests

Elena Tartaglia

Elena Tartaglia is co-founder of National Moth Week and an ecologist at Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey.

Meet the Producer

About Christopher Intagliata

Christopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer. He once served as a prop in an optical illusion and speaks passable Ira Flatowese.

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The Caterpillar With the Candy-Cane Stripe

This silk moth symbolizes National Moth Week, which has gone global.

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10 Questions for Mark Mello, Moth Man

The zoologist attributes his affinity for nature to a childhood of tromping outdoors.

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