History, Natural History & the Arts
A stunning moth visits my deck in late summer. At an inch long, it doesn’t have the stature of a luna or cecropia moth, but the brilliant gradient of vermilion to gold across its wings and body, offset with contrasting black bars, is eye-catching.
It’s a painted lichen moth, a member of a group of small moths whose caterpillars are known for feeding on lichens. [Read more…] about The Miniature Mysteries of Lichen Moths
The black and orange stripes catch my eye as I swing the scythe through dew-laden grass. My eyes typically follow the tip of the 28-inch blade as I mow, trying to keep it level with the ground, but the contrasting color pattern pulls my attention to milkweed plants just a few feet to my right.
A group of seven very hairy caterpillars, sporting alternating tufts of black, white, and orange hairs, are nibbling away at a leaf. [Read more…] about How Milkweed Tussock Moths Evade Predators
My first sighting of a cecropia moth was from a boat. It was a sunny morning and I was paddling along the lakeshore, expecting to see familiar birds. Instead, my eye was drawn to a large brown spot covering an alder leaf.
My first thought was that it was a discoloration, perhaps from a fungus. Paddling closer, I saw it was a moth – a very, very big one. [Read more…] about Cecropia: A Big Moth On A Mission
The spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) is a non-native insect from Europe. In New York, spongy moth caterpillars feed on a variety of trees, with oak as their preferred species.
Spongy moths have naturalized in our forested communities, which means they are always present in New York in some capacity. In recent years, spongy moth populations have experienced a boom throughout the Northeastern U.S. [Read more…] about 2026 Spongy Moth Outbreak Outlook for New York State
Late fall and early winter are the best times of year to spot giant silk moth cocoons. Perhaps you’ve seen these creatures in the summer, fluttering by your porch light in the evening or resting on your garage wall in the early morning after spending the night at its light.
These large, showy moths in the family Saturniidae live only briefly as winged adults, are strikingly colored, and, as moths go, are huge. [Read more…] about Cocoon Spotting: Giant Silk Moths in Winter
When I imagine scientists discovering new animals, I picture them traveling to far-off jungles or remote mountaintops – not investigating local roadsides, utility cuts, or other edge spaces of human habitation.
Yet late last summer, naturalists with The Caterpillar Lab in Swanzey, New Hampshire, found an unknown caterpillar on an unlikely host plant in an unassuming location. [Read more…] about Finding the Pink Star Caterpillar
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Forest Health Research Lab Manager Amanda Dillon, recently collaborated with other researchers from universities, state agencies, and environmental organizations across the Northeast to study how barrens ecosystems can support important pollinators like bees and moths. [Read more…] about A Regional Study of Pollinators in Barrens Habitats
As steam rises from sugarhouse cupolas and early morning coffee pots, sugarmakers are working overtime to turn maple sap into golden syrup.
But as it turns out, they aren’t alone: other living things are sugaring too, and their stories affect the syrup that is poured on your pancakes (or into your morning coffee). [Read more…] about Surprising Sugarmakers in the Late Winter Woods
Through the ongoing implementation of the Reduced Mowing Policy — part of the New York State Pollinator Protection Plan — grow zones have become a staple at state parks and historic sites.
These zones, where native grasses and wildflowers are allowed to grow tall, benefit the environment and local wildlife, proving to be more sustainable than traditional mowed areas and enhancing visitor experience in new ways. [Read more…] about State Parks’ Reduced Mowing Program Boosts Nature
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is seeking public input on the draft list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need and associated species status assessments for use in updating New York’s State Wildlife Action Plan for 2025-35. [Read more…] about List of Species of Greatest Conservation Need Being Revised
Back in primary school in the 1970s, we learned about nature’s “food chain.” In this linear model, which I assume was devised by surveyors who normally lay out rail lines and utility corridors, a tiny creature, let’s say a minnow, gets eaten by a bigger fish, and so on until the biggest fish of all eventually dies and its rotting carcass is maybe nibbled on by vengeful small fish. [Read more…] about Food Webs and Tapestries: Connecting the Dots
In late autumn, well past the showy blossoms of summer, after even fall’s late bloomers have faded and the trees have dropped their leaves, there is one shrubby plant still putting on a flower show: American witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), sometimes called Winterbloom. [Read more…] about Winterbloom: American Witch Hazel
On Planet Earth, there are some 5,400 species of animals, 11,000 species of birds, 18,000 species of butterflies — and 160,000 species of moths.
That was just one of the many largely unknown facts shared by Paul Smith College’s Professor of Biology Janet Mihuc at a recent meeting of the Adirondack Garden Club held at the Ausable Club in St. Huberts in the High Peaks. [Read more…] about Moth Diversity in Our Landscape
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