Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Accidental Achievement

When we lived in Colorado Springs, I would walk our neighborhood regularly, if not daily, unless the weather was severe. Little did I know that one such constitutional would yield something globally significant.

My photo of the male moth.

On the afternoon of November 5, 2020, passing a vacant lot up the street that I had passed by almost daily, I noticed small moths flying around. Many moth species fly late into autumn, so that alone did not intrigue me. Many moths fly during daylight hours, so that was not unusual, either. Curious me wanted to document the thing anyway, but that was easier said than done. The moths were wary, and quickly disappeared into weeds when they landed, camouflaged.

Finally, one of them landed on the sidewalk, and as I recall a bit of a breeze kept it from taking flight again immediately. Not the best of photos, but I put it on iNaturalist anyway. I wasn’t even completely sure of the family, but I figured something so common would be recognized by an expert eventually.

My iNaturalist entry.

Fast forward to November of 2024, and I receive an email from Andrew Warren informing me that not only was this moth a species new to science, but that it also qualified to be in a new genus. I was shocked. How could something that abundant be completely overlooked until now?

It turns out I had the correct family (Crambidae), but obviously could not have put a more specific name to it. It didn’t have one! The paper describing the moth is now published, and anyone can view it here. I was not at liberty to share this story until after the publication, as a common courtesy to the authors.

Better image of a male, photo © Andrew Warren.

Allow me to briefly summarize, if you do not want the long story in the journal article. The moth has so far been collected between October 20 and November 22. Mine is so far the only record for El Paso County, but it is suspected to occur all along the Front Range, possibly into Wyoming in the north and New Mexico in the south. This is based on the host plant for the caterpillar, which is a grass known as Sand Dropseed, Sporobolus cryptandrus.

The larvae probably feed on the roots of the plant, because the moths have only been found in situations where the dropseed was either mowed or trampled. Seriously. Where the plants are upright, no moths. Sure enough, the vacant lot where I found mine was mowed regularly, much to my dismay until I learned this story.

The female moth, photo © Christian Nunes.

The females of the moth, which now bears the name Coloradactria frigida, are flightless, with heavy bodies and short wings. No wonder I never saw those. They certainly must emit a pheromone to attract the males.

Other known localities for the moth are in Douglas County around Castle Rock, and in Weld County, all in Colorado. Late autumn searching elsewhere should certainly turn up new records.

A mating pair of the moths, photo © Christian Nunes.

The lesson I have learned from this is that you can, and should, never assume anything when it comes to entomology. You do not even have to know what you are doing to make an earth-shattering discovery. We collectively know very little. It is your curiosity that counts. That, and your willingness to share what you find with others. Do the documenting with photographs, videos, and sound recordings, and put them out there. Please.

Source: Warren, Andrew D., Clifford D. Ferris, Bernard Landry, Jeremy Authier, Theo Leger, Julia Bilat, and Christian A. Nunes. 2025. “A New Genus and Species of Crambinae (Pyraloidea: Crambidae) With Brachypterous Females From Colorado, U.S.A.,” Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 79 (2): 73-84.

Friday, July 4, 2025

You Made Bugwatching Number One!

I learned recently that my new book, Bugwatching: The Art, Joy, and Importance of Observing Insects, is, or was, number one in the "Outdoor and Nature Reference" category of new releases for Amazon books. This would not have happened without your loyalty, preorders, and promotion among your friends and neighbors. Thank you!

I do not habitually pay attention to rankings like these, but maybe I should. Someone on social media tagged me in a post by fellow author Rebecca Lexa, who has a new book of her own, The Everyday Naturalist. She held number one until my book "dethroned" hers. Obviously, we are both on "team nature," so I hope you will consider purchasing her book, too. We have already agreed to trade books between us, and I can't wait to read hers.

People frequently ask me which avenue of purchase benefits me the most, and my answer that there is no great difference from one outlet to another. Personally, I like supporting local, independent booksellers, and BookShop. Electronic versions of the book do not benefit authors much, but if you prefer that format, please buy that. I cannot sign it for you, though.

Attention to my book is not all about a revenue stream. I may not live to see much in the way of royalties, as it takes awhile to break even with the initial advances an author receives ahead of the book's release. My entire goal is to get more people excited about the natural world around them, and insects are a perfect vehicle for that.

When you are curious, you go to the effort to learn more, and the more you learn the more curious you become. Your passion swells, and with that comes a commitment to protecting other species and the ecosystems they inhabit. You also share your personal discoveries with others on platforms like iNaturalist, Project Noah, Bugguide, and others. Maybe you write a book, or decide to keep a nature journal.

Thank you again for your unwavering support for what I do. Please let me know how else I can advance your own endeavors.

Stay tuned, in the next week or so I will have a remarkable personal story to share with you.