As part of a the new Better Common Names Project, the Ecological Society of America has removed the derogatory common name from Lymantria dispar. The offensive common name of "gypsy moth" is a derogatory term for the Romani people. A new common name will be proposed and approved in the future. Read more from the ESA announcement.
Check out today's Opinion piece in The New York Times.
Pollinator Week is an annual event that celebrates pollinators. Mark your calendar for June 21-27, 2021.
We are continually adding photographs of caterpillars to the image gallery. Browse the images and check out the diversity of moth caterpillars and butterfly caterpillars.
The DeWind Committee selects at least two students engaged in the field of Lepidoptera (moth and butterfly) conservation to receive an award to support their research. The winners of the 2021 DeWind Awards are:
Wendy Valencia-Montoya (Harvard University)
Christopher Halsch (University of Nevada, Reno)
Read more on the Xerces blog: Announcing the 2021 DeWind Award Winners
Finding moths is a perfect social distancing activity! No need to meet with a big group; just check out a nearby park or building in the dark.
Learn more about National Moth Week.
You can collect moth sightings and submit them to us as part of National Moth Week. Find out how to share your National Moth Week sightings with Butterflies and Moths of North America.
National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2020. This is a great week to spend time learning more about pollinators. Learn all about Pollinator Week and find activities you can do.
Update June 3: Bug fix is complete!
Starting around May 22, 2020, some users have reported errors they received while trying to submit sightings to BAMONA using the Google Chrome internet browser. We are aware of the bug , and it is being actively worked on. We will update this post when the bug is fixed.
Check out this fascinating article from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/21/science/butterflies-moths-fossils-evo....
Do you have the expertise to review photographs of moths spotted in Missouri or the western US (California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah) ? We could use your help!
Contact us for more information.