Diario del proyecto Moths of Oklahoma

National Moth Week is set for July 20-28 this year with events scheduled all over the world. Here in Oklahoma I am working on three different nights of moth viewing, at three different locations in the state.

First up is Saturday, July 20 at the Oxley Nature Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is going to be a great event, kicking off with a presentation on moths at 7:30, followed by viewing of moths on lit sheets around the nature center until midnight. Come and learn about this fascinating and diverse group of winged creatures and stick around to see how many species we can find!

The Oxley Nature Center will be open throughout the evening, so we will have access to air conditioning, a water fountain, and restrooms. Please bring your own bug spray and a camera if you would like to take pictures.

I've already heard that Leah and Rick are coming! Who else wants to join us!?!

If you have any questions, let me know!

National Moth Week is set for July 20-28 this year with events scheduled all over the world. Here in Oklahoma I have scheduled three different nights of moth viewing, at three different locations in the state. I already shared the announcement for the event in eastern Oklahoma (Tulsa).

The second event will be in central Oklahoma on Wednesday, July 24 at Thunderbird Chapel, just east of Norman. We will have lights set up by dusk and will stick around until about midnight. A restroom is available on site. Please bring your own bug spray and a camera if you would like to take pictures.

If you have any questions, let me know!

Stay tuned for the announcement of the third event.

National Moth Week is set for July 20-28 this year with events scheduled all over the world. Here in Oklahoma I have scheduled three different nights of moth viewing, at three different locations in the state. I already shared the announcement for the events in eastern and central Oklahoma.

The third and final event will be in western Oklahoma on Saturday, July 27 at Quartz Mountain State Park. Since this is a somewhat remote location, attendees will want to consider accommodations. Some of us will be tent or RV camping. There is also the option of reserving a room in the lodge.

We plan to set up our lights at the Nature Center, which you can see on the map here. The event will last from dusk until about midnight. Public restrooms are available nearby. Please bring your own bug spray and a camera if you would like to take pictures.

I've already heard that Leah and Rick are coming! Who else wants to join us!?!

If you have any questions, let me know!

This is another article from more than 5 years ago, but it's a really interesting one. Apparently there is at least one species of moth that is capable of confusing the bats that hunt them by emitting very fast clicking noises. The bats use echolocation to find their prey and the clicking basically obscures their echolocation. I like bats, but I gotta love the fact that this species of moth has evolved to evade capture. That is a cool adaptation indeed!

To top it all off, this is a really attractive tiger moth from the Erebidae family, Bertholdia trigona. See the profile for this species on Moth Photographer's Group, iNaturalist, and Bugguide. Maybe we need to take a field trip to New Mexico to find one of these little beauties!

I've gotta think there are probably more moths out there with this capability, or other interesting capabilities to avoid predation. They just need more study.

Read the Smithsonian Magazine article here.