Moth Week 2026 by Phone

I am so far behind in uploading camera photos to my computer and external hard drives that I literally “phoned it in” for National Moth Week, July 18-26. The photos in this post were taken with my iPhone 14. I promise that eventually I will have camera photos added to most of my observations posted on iNaturalist.

Our set-up at Atchison State Fishing Lake.

Officially, according to the current status on iNat for the Moth Week project in Kansas, I finished with a little over 90 species of moths in 234 observations. That was better than I expected. June is typically a more productive month for moth diversity here in northeast Kansas, USA. I am also not very proficient in identifying moths. I must thank the very knowledgeable and generous experts on iNaturalist for helping me out.

Suzuki's Promalactis Moth

Linden Prominent.

I began the week by putting out our blacklight in the front yard, near the giant Pin Oak tree that is probably responsible for feeding most of our insect diversity, both literally and figuratively. The weather the entire week was mostly hot, and vastly more humid than we usually experience here, so that was in our favor.

White-lined Sphinx from the back yard.

Two days later, on July 20, I switched to the back yard. We now have an outlet on the exterior of our detached garage, so I also plugged in a bright white light. We usually use a lightweight Jackery generator to run both the blacklight and a terribly dim LED white floodlight. The brighter light with the traditional bulb drains the generator in less than a couple of hours, compared to the LED. I welcome suggestions for a brighter white light that will run longer through the Jackery.

Heidi spotted this Curved-ribbon moth, Dinumma deponens on the door to the garage. This species is native to Asia.

It is surprising how different the results can be between our two yards. The backyard includes overhanging branches of a Silver Maple in the neighbor’s yard, plus a strip of mostly native herbaceous plants like White Snakeroot, goldenrod, Coreopsis, and coneflower, some of which Heidi planted, some of which is volunteering.

Maple Looper moth.

We also have volunteer Eastern Redbud, Eastern Black Walnut, hackberry, and young Pin Oaks planted by the resident squirrels. Our backyard “lawn” features sedges, plantain, LOTS of violets (the ornamental variety), clover, wood sorrel, and other non-native species.

Walnut Catoptilia moth.

Heidi decided we should try blacklighting out of town, at the Atchison State Fishing Lake in Atchison County, Kansas, so on July 21, we gave it a try. As expected, we were initially inundated with midges from the nearby lake. Caddisflies and aquatic beetles also showed up in large numbers. I think I will wear a mask next time we are anywhere near water, to avoid inhaling the smaller insects.

Heidi found this freshly-emerged Honey Locust Moth on the ground, then put it on a tree trunk where the insect fully inflated its wings.

While we were waiting for things to simmer down at the lights, we looked around the forest edges, and managed to find a few moths that way, too, along with the odd beetle, spider, or other nocturnal creature.

A Crocus Geometer moth, species unknown, Atchison State Fishing Lake.

We did not get back home until nearly two o’clock the next morning, but it was well worth the trip, and we will probably try again in the future. There was only one tent in the campground, and only two other vehicles came along. No one bothered us, though it helped that we were there on a weekday and not a weekend.

Hagen's Sphinx really does have this lovely mossy green tinge to it.

The night of July 24, I decided to be lazy and merely turn on the front porch light. Again, it is surprising what will come to the porch light versus the blacklight. Then again, at the porch light there are usually fewer numbers of insects, and I can concentrate on individual specimens.

A very shiny micro moth, Homosetia argentinotella, at the front porch light.

This is where I often find unique “micro” moths. Indeed, I added at least one new one to our home list of fauna and flora. I encourage everyone who participates in National Moth Week, or who routinely blacklights for insects, to pay special attention to micros. You could easily document something new to your county, state, or even the country.

A male White-marked Tussock Moth on the side of our house during the day.

Saturday evening, July 25, after a wonderful dinner at a local Italian restaurant, I walked through downtown Leavenworth and discovered several moths that were still present on storefronts, having been attracted to lights the night before.

This Maple Zale moth is not so well camouflaged on a windowsill in downtown Leavenworth.

I was secretly hoping to find a Black Witch in one of the recessed alcoves, but no luck. There have been records of that giant subtropical moth in the Kansas City area, but not yet this year.

Virginia Creeper Sphinx from downtown Leavenworth.

From downtown, I walked up to my in-laws’ home and set up the blacklight in their back yard, something we hadn’t done in years. It was a near total bust. We were overwhelmed by caddisflies, literally thousands of them.

Spotted Phosphila Moth.

Ironically, away from the light I found a nice specimen of the Spotted Phosphila Moth, Phosphila miselioides. That was the highlight of the night, and we packed it in early.

An unidentified plume moth by our front porch during the day.

We ended the week on July 26 by setting up the blacklight in the front yard again, and shining the bright white light onto a sheet of foamcore in the back yard (we need another sheet). Naturally, some of the nicer moths I was only able to get photos of just after midnight. I may cheat a little and backdate a camera photo or two for moths that I know I saw prior to the closing bell. That’s allowed, right?

Yellow-winged Oak Leafroller moth at front yard blacklight.

I swear I saw this Painted Lichen Moth flying behind the sheet before midnight. Honest!

I hope you had success in your own Moth Week adventures, or that you will consider participating in future years. It is truly wonderful, fascinating, and sometimes challenging experience. It is even better with a small party of other excited people.

City Nature Challenge 2026 Recap: Insects

My anticipation for the annual City Nature Challenge usually begins with great anxiety around the weather, and ends with nice surprises and unexpected species. This year was no different. I have the luxury of time, and knowledge, to make the most of the event regardless.

A male fire-colored beetle, Neopyrochroa femoralis, at our backyard blacklight, Leavenworth, Kansas.

A week prior, the forecast was looking like a nearly complete washout, with high chances of rain, if not storms. It turned out that the few inclement periods happened mostly in the overnight hours. It was still windy, or at least gusty, most of the time, with some hide-and-seek sun, too.

Eastern Tailed-blue butterfly in Havens Park, Leavenworth, Kansas.

More angst surrounded the changes we experienced at some of the parks we frequent. Our local “wild” park, Havens Park in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA, is installing a frisbee golf course, and has cleared patches of forest in the process. Meanwhile, in Wyandotte County Lake Park to the southwest, we noticed substantially clearing of vegetation around one of our favorite sites, a backwater pond. If they were going after invasive honeysuckle, great, but it appeared that it was that particular plant that was rebounding after the cutting and scraping.

The male Orange Spur Fly, Teuchocnemis bacuntius, waving hello. Havens Park, Leavenworth, Kansas.

Despite the setbacks, I managed to find some interesting insects. Chief among them was a unique syrphid fly, the Orange Spur Fly, Teuchocnemis bacuntius, that I spied at the edge of the forest near the front of Havens Park. This is a fairly large fly, named for the spur on the hind tibia of the male. Little is known about its life history, and mine is the only Kansas record for both iNaturalist and Bugguide, online.

A male Goatweed Leafwing, defending territory in Havens Park, Leavenworth, Kansas.

A male Harvester on the lookout for passing females. Havens Park, Leavenworth, Kansas.

We have had a warm, early spring, and many species had come and gone by the time the City Nature Challenge began. It was difficult to find some butterflies, for example, that peaked earlier in April. I still managed to spot two that I was hoping for: The Goatweed Leafwing, and the Harvester.

Hayhurst's Scallopwing skipper, Havens Park, Leavenworth, Kansas.

Duskywing skippers were so faded and tattered that identification was nearly impossible, but I was delighted to see a perfect specimen of a Hayhurst’s Scallopwing.

A male Common Baskettail dragonfly, Havens Park, Leavenworth, Kansas.

A male Springtime Darner dragonfly, Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas.

A male Blue Corporal dragonfly, Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas.

Other charismatic “bugs” included dragonflies, and I was fortunate to see a few of them perch. Common Baskettail is typical for this time period, as is the Springtime Darner, and Blue Corporal. Variegated Meadowhawk can be seen almost year round.

Six-spotted Tiger Beetle on a trail in Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas.

Beetles were out both day and night. Six-spotted Tiger Beetle is always a delight, and hard to miss with its bright green color. We even found a pair of mating Spring Treetop Flasher fireflies, over at Weston Bend State Park in Missouri.

Spring Treetop Flasher fireflies at Weston Bend State Park, Missouri.

Also at Weston Bend, I noticed what I thought at first was a bumble bee or carpenter bee, but it was flying a little slower, and silently. It was an American Carrion Beetle! I managed to knock it down, and brought it home for a photo shoot, before releasing it in our yard (I had one in our yard a couple years ago).

Studio portrait of American Carrion Beetle from Weston Bend State Park, Missouri.

Among the new species we recorded for our home property was a checkered beetle on the side of our house: Madoniella dislocata. It preys on small wood-boring beetles, so maybe it flew over from the logs and brush pile in the back yard.

Checkered beetle, Madoniella dislocata, at our Leavenworth, Kansas home.

I did blacklighting twice. The first night in the front yard, where we have a big old Pin Oak tree, was probably too cold and clear, and barely anything flew in.

This Isabella Tiger Moth, adult of the familiar "woollybear" caterpillar, was one of the few insects to come to our front yard blacklight on April 24, in Leavenworth, Kansas.

The next night, in the back yard, was the much more successful, the weather being warmer.

Faint-spotted Palthis moth, Palthis asopialis, at the backyard blacklight, Leavenworth, Kansas.

A Two-spotted Diaperis beetle, Diaperis maculata, at the backyard blacklight, Leavenworth, Kansas.

The nocturnal insect crowd included many kinds of beetles, flies, true bugs, moths, and wasps. The diversity was greater than the quantity of any one taxon. That will change soon, as caddisflies and rove beetles assert their dominance later, often overwhelming the sheet.

A stink bug, genus Banasa, at the backyard blacklight, Leavenworth, Kansas.

The largest moth visitor we had at the backyard blacklight was this American Dagger, Acronicta americana.

Bees were not as abundant as I was expecting, but several species had mostly come and gone already, especially cellophane bees (aka “polyester bees,” genus Colletes). The early mason bees, genus Osmia, were mostly finished, too.

A mason bee, genus Osmia, investigates some damp soil as potential material for her nest. Havens Park, Leavenworth, Kansas.

Kleptoparasitic bees, namely Nomada and Sphecodes, were still evident. They make their living in the larval stage feeding in the nests of other solitary bees.

A "blood bee," genus Sphecodes, from Havens Park, Leavenworth, Kansas.

Wasp diversity was quite high, too. I saw a couple of mating pairs of mason wasps, and there were at least four genera that I observed.

Mating mason wasps, Euodynerus foraminatus, male on top, in Havens Park, Leavenworth, Kansas.

One of the most interesting wasps found me. I noticed it on the sleeve of my shirt, took a picture, and then captured it for a controlled photoshoot at home. I thought it was a large eupelmid (family Eupelmidae), but in seeking further help with identification via a Facebook group, I learned it was something else entirely.

The Cleonymus magnificus wasp, maybe five millimeters, from Sportsfield Park in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Meet Cleonymus magnificus. Until recently, it was placed in the family Pteromalidae. It is now in its own family, the Cleonymidae. I will eventually write a blog post about this insect specifically, so stay tuned.

Please see my other blog, Sense of Misplaced, for a companion post that treats the birds, mammals, and other non-insect wildlife that I was fortunate enough to see during the City Nature Challenge. I promise there are some cuties in there.

A small but attractive longhorned beetle, genus Callidium, that I captured in Havens Park, Leavenworth, Kansas.

All of my observations for the 2026 City Nature Challenge can be found at this iNaturalist link. Feel free to share a link to your own observations in the comments. I would love to see what you discovered!

Remembering Moth Week 2025

Yes, I am terribly behind in making public my sightings of insects, arachnids, and other wildlife this year. I finally have my observations for National Moth Week 2025 loaded onto iNaturalist, but I will share some of them here in this post.

Zebra Conchylodes Moth, Eddyville, Kentucky.

Heidi was generous enough to secure us tickets to the Coldplay concert in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, so we spent almost the entirety of the week in that area of the country. We began in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. When we arrived, the weather was rainy and not at all conducive to looking for insects, but it was also the day before the start of National Moth Week.

This Pink-shaded Fern Moth was the first of its kind I'd ever seen.

We stayed at a small rental house near Eddyville, Kentucky, surrounded by deciduous forest. The first night, we simply left the front porch light on, and looked at the few insects that flew in, using the awning over the porch as convenient cover from the showers.

This Lost Owlet moth was also new to me.

The subsequent two nights were better. We put out our blacklight the second night, under the carport by a large metal garage building. The building had its own, motion-activated light, which helped draw more bugs to our sheet. The landscape was still quite wet, however.

Tulip-tree Beauty, a large geometer moth, was common at our lights....

....but harder to see on a tree trunk!

We debated whether to turn on the blacklight for our third and final night in Eddyville, but I decided against it. We did turn on a light over the back porch, though, and that attracted a good number of insects, including moths.

A Posturing Arta moth, posturing.

As we headed south, we entered Tennessee, and stopped at the lovely Cedar Pond Picnic Area. The sun had broken through permanently by now, so there was more insect activity. Around the pond were a couple of overlooks, and at one of those we startled a butterfly off a pile of scat from some mammal’s recent visit. On closer inspection, we noticed there was also a Nessus Sphinx Moth taking advantage of the fresh dung.

Nessus Sphinx moth enjoying(?) fresh dung.

While we were in Nashville, we stayed at a hotel that did not permit us to do any blacklighting. Plus, there was the concert itself. If you have never been to a stadium concert for your favorite band, I recommend the experience. Highly exhilarating, and worth the expense.

Deep Yellow Euchlaena Moth, Giant City State Park, Illinois.

From Nashville we headed west to southern Illinois, an area rich in both biodiversity, and protected natural areas in which to enjoy it. There are wildlife refuges, state parks, and other places that have grassroots support from local friends groups, resulting in excellent maintenance and outstanding sources of firsthand knowledge.

Rosy Maple Moth.

We decided to visit Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge on the way to our destination of Giant City State Park. The visitor center was being remodeled, and it was about to close for the day, but we met a couple who volunteer there. They were friendly, and very helpful. Exploring the exterior of the building, I found a beautiful Rosy Maple Moth, still hanging out by a light it had been drawn to the previous night.

Caterpillars, like this one of a tussock moth, count, too, during National Moth Week. Lower Cache River, Illinois.

Jennifer Randolph, the naturalist and nature center manager at Giant City State Park had invited me to give a presentation on moths for her volunteers and anyone else interested, so we stayed at a cabin in the park for three nights.

The "working" part of our vacation, presenting on moths at Giant City State Park.

The first two nights we set up a blacklight on our cabin porch, and were rewarded with a spectacular variety and quantity of insects. The cabins are basically duplexes (front to back) offering comfortable accommodations for guests, and situated far enough apart that you are not disturbing your neighbors with quiet nighttime activities.

The Bad-wing is actually a real beauty.

On our last night, we set up our lights a fair distance away at a picnic shelter elsewhere in the park. There was a pole light by the shelter that complemented our dim white light and portable blacklight. We did not see many species different from what we had at our cabin, but there were some notable exceptions.

A large and lovely Azalea Sphinx.

On our drive back home, we stopped for a rest, rather randomly, at a Casey’s store in New Florence, Missouri. When I glanced up as we pulled into our parking spot, I could hardly believe my eyes. I blurted out an excited “Oooh, oooh!,” and pointed, wide-eyed, at the enormous female Imperial Moth perched on the wall beneath a light.

Imperial Moth, female.

Moth Week could have ended there and I would have been happy, but we got home to Leavenworth, Kansas in time to set up our blacklight in the front yard for the final night, July 27. A few more species were added, and then it was over.

Unidentified dagger moth, genus Acronicta, Leavenworth, Kansas.

All of my observations can be seen at the hyperlink in the first paragraph of this blog post. Meanwhile, Heidi’s observations can be found here. We almost always see different species, even in the same place. Plus, her photos are usually better.

Linden Prominent moth was a new visitor to our Leavenworth, Kansas yard.

While there is an official National Moth Week, almost any time of the year can be its own moth week. There are still moths flying here in Leavenworth, at least until the first hard freeze. Turn on your porch light and see what lives in your own neighborhood.

Basswood Leafroller Moth, Leavenworth, Kansas.

NOTE: In the current, highly-charged political atmosphere, I strongly suggest navigating friends group websites for recreation areas, national parks, wildlife refuges, and other properties operated by the federal government, to avoid being subjected to biased and irrelevant content. Thank you.