I was gardening with a friend in Virginia Beach this week when she mentioned her plans to remove an old coral honeysuckle. After explaining how it hadn’t bloomed in years, the only thing that saved it from the chopping block was my insistence that it still had value as a host plant to one of Virginia’s spectacular moths — the clearwing moth. Moths spend most of their lives flying under the radar, but as efficient pollinators and beautiful creatures they deserve a place in our gardens this year.
Moths are in the order Lepidoptera meaning they have scaly wings like their vastly more popular cousins — the butterflies. Despite their popularity, butterflies are less numerous than moths. According to the Smithsonian’s Bug Info website, around the world there are only 17,500 species of butterflies but 160,000 species of moths — with 11,000 species occurring in the United States. Virginia has nearly 400 species and despite being commonplace, they often go unnoticed.
Like the clearwing and hummingbird hawkmoths, there are daytime fliers. But many moth species, with their profoundly hairy bodies, pick up the night shift of pollination. While honeybees and bumblebees gather copious amounts of pollen, they stay within a limited area and often only visit the most prolific sources of pollen and nectar in their range. Moths, however, especially nocturnal and crepuscular species, have been documented nectaring on a wide range of plant species and have been shown to carry pollen further distances, ensuring high genetic diversity and low inbreeding. A study published by Richard E. Walton et al, in the Biology Letters this month examined the role of nocturnal moth species’ pollination services. The study hypothesized that while moths may not carry the same quantity of pollen grains, “their high diversity and abundance may render them important and complementary components of diurnal pollination networks.” In the study, Walton trapped moths and examined the pollen grains being carried, finding 47 plant species represented, including seven species with no daytime pollinators ever observed.
In the 2018 April-May edition National Wildlife Magazine, the “Working the Night Shift” article examined moths’ role in the food chain. In addition to pollinating wildflowers and crop plants, moths and their caterpillars are an important food source for a variety of wildlife, including rodents, bats, lizards, frogs and toads, spiders, ants, even bears. They are an important resource to birds during the nesting season, with hatchlings eating thousands of caterpillars before even leaving the nest.
Thankfully, gardening with moths in mind is easy. Unlike butterflies, many moth species lay eggs on a wide range of host plants. Cherry, oak, willow, maple, birch — a long list of tree species are on the menu, as well as vines like raspberry and honeysuckle and shrubs like chokecherry and pussywillow. Check out a complete list of host plants and be sure to add some to your garden this year. For nectar, nocturnal moths prefer white or pale flowers that are lightly scented. Daytime moths nectar on many of the same plants as butterflies, so bolstering native plants will be appreciated. In the fall leave leaves where they fall, or at least move them into beds or a brush pile, as many species overwinter in leaf litter. And lastly, turn off outside light sources before dawn to reduce the number of moths eaten by bats and birds.
Peak moth season occurs midsummer, but many of the showiest species (like luna, cecropia, and polyphemus moths) will be emerging from cocoons in the coming weeks. Try shining a bright light on a white sheet at night to catalog what species are active near you,. It’s a fun activity to do with children or adults and will help you find a new appreciation for the diverse moth species hard at work all around you.
Additional reading
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/animals/moths.shtml
https://xerces.org/blog/gardening-for-moths
http://nativeplantherald.prairienursery.com/2016/03/host-plants-for-butterflies-and-moths/
https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef008 (food sources for moths)
In Full Bloom is a weekly feature from Allissa Bunner that focuses on sustainable gardening, environmental stewardship and related community news and initiatives. Bunner is a Norfolk resident who is passionate about plants — especially natives — and enjoys growing things from seed. She can be reached at acbinfullbloom@gmail.com.
Additional reading
