To paraphrase Rodney Dangerield, ‘moths don’t get no respect.’
Though they outnumber their cousin the butterfly by gazillions, are important pollinators in their own right, and are synonymous with romantic obsession, say the word ‘moth’ and most people think of the critters that make a meal of a good suit.
That’s why, more than a decade ago, we held our first ‘Moth Ball,’ a celebration of the fascinating story of these nocturnal beauties, and of the gorgeous caterpillars that they transform from.
We, by the way, are the – take a deep breath – Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance, a non-profit conservation group dedicated to telling the story (and getting respect) for the globally-rare ecoregion we live within.
The Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens – which stretches from Plymouth to the tip of Cape Cod – is home to over 200 state-listed species of plants, animals, birds, bees and – you guessed it – moths, including the aptly named Pine Barrens Buck Moth.
Our organization does everything it can to educate people about the unique qualities of this ecoregion, and one of the best ways to do that is to celebrate the species of this area.
We do it by ‘head-starting’ the endangered Red-Bellied Cooter. We do it by filing legislation to stop the abuse of the ‘living fossil’ known as the horseshoe crab. And we do it every year by inviting folks to our “Moth Ball” where we serve up gummi caterpillars, slices of moth cake, root beer floats and stay late into the night recording the hundreds of moths drawn to the two ‘lures’ set up outside our headquarters on Center Hill Road.
Every year we host our Moth Ball during National Moth Week (yes, there is such a thing) and this year the Ball is on Friday, July 24, starting at 7:30 pm.
For more information, visit our EventBrite listing at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1990998424885?aff=oddtdtcreator or call 774 454-0856.
– Frank Mand