Celebrate National Moth Week 2024 at Community Park, July 27

Think moths are drab and uninteresting? Or even scary? Prepare to banish those thoughts and become fascinated by these environmentally essential creatures of the night at East Brunswick’s Moth Night on Saturday, July 27, at Community Park, located behind Crystal Springs Aquatic Park. The event is free and open to the public.

Moth night will get underway at 8:30 p.m., with sheets and lights set up on the trails in Community Park behind the Nature Center. “Moth-ers” of all ages and abilities are invited to bring their flashlights and cameras to record what they find. Kids may come with parents at 8 p.m. to “paint” the trunks of trees with provided moth bait that also helps to attract the critters. Everyone is advised to wear sturdy shoes, carry a flashlight, and bring bug spray, if desired.

The event marks the 13th annual National Moth Week (NMW), which was founded in East Brunswick by the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission (FriendsEBEC) in 2012 and is being celebrated around the world July 20-28 this year. This year’s theme is the diverse colors and patterns found among moths worldwide. Even gray and paler shaded moths display intricate patterns and wing shapes.

Participants are encouraged to document the moths they find and post their photos on NMW’s data submission partners, found at nationalmothweek.org/partners.

Since its founding, National Moth Week has become one of the most popular citizen science projects in the world with thousands of participants in public and private moth-watching and educational events each year. NMW shines a light on moths, their beauty, ecological diversity and critical role in the natural world as pollinators.

To date, it has been celebrated in more than 120 nations and has an international team of entomologists, educators and researchers helping to advance knowledge of and interest in moths and their role in the environment. NMW also has nearly 40 country coordinators on six continents who engage their fellow citizens in NMW activities, such as moth nights, educational programs, moth photography and data collection.

Venues for NMW events have included National Parks and Monuments, museums and local recreation areas, as well as private backyards and front porches – wherever there’s a light and a place for them to land. Individuals and organizations can register their own backyard and public events at this link.

For more information about National Moth Week and how to be a “moth-er,” visit nationalmothweek.org.

The Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conservation and environmental education. In addition to National Moth Week, its activities include the Community Garden, Freecycling Days, Salamander Protection Program, the Sustainability Task Force and Option Green lecture series at the East Brunswick Public Library.

To learn more about the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and receive event notices, go to friendsebec.com. Click on “join” to join the email list.

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Why study moths?

• Part of the Lepidoptera order of insects, moths are among the most diverse and successful organisms on earth.
• Moths are important pollinators, and serve as a food source for birds, bats and other animals.
• Scientists estimate there are 150,000 to as many as 500,000 moth species.
• Their colors and patterns are either dazzling or so cryptic that they define camouflage. Shapes and sizes span the gamut from as small as a pinhead to as large as an adult’s hand.
• Most moths are nocturnal, and need to be sought at night to be seen – others fly like butterflies during the day.
• Finding moths can be as simple as leaving a porch light on and checking it after dark. Serious moth aficionados use special lights and baits to attract them.