Moth walls: shedding light on moth biodiversity

Abstract

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) is one of the most diverse insect orders on Earth. Its members contribute to important ecosystem services such as pollination and herbivory while also serving as principal food for many other animals. Yet in this age of rapid climate change and declining biodiversity, the current distribution of most moth species remains largely undocumented. Here, we describe a novel and low-cost method of bridging this gap, which takes advantage of the fact that many nocturnal insects are attracted to artificial light. A robust network of “moth walls” periodically surveyed by community members serves two purposes: (1) help document moth species diversity and distribution and (2) help stakeholders engage the public about the importance of moths and other nocturnal insects. We contend that moth walls are of relevance to stakeholders interested in biodiversity data, invasive species detection, occurrence data for ranked species, and the ecology of insects attracted to light. The addition of automation and machine learning algorithms could further contribute to the capture and processing of detections across our growing network. Moth walls have already proven fruitful for monitoring and public engagement, yielding new jurisdictional records in Canada while providing local engagement opportunities for agencies and communities.

Keywords

• community science
• citizen science
• nocturnal insects
• detection tools
• public engagement