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If You Build It, Moths Will Come

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If Kevin Costner can make a baseball field for ghosts to play on then I should be able to build something to attract moths to land on, right?  Well in the middle of a global pandemic, I did.  2020 marked the 9th  National Moth Week , which is a citizen science project that allows people from all over the world to submit their photos and contribute to a growing database of moths.  Did you know there are almost  11,000 species of moths  in the United States alone?  Most people think that butterflies are out during the day and moths only come out at night, but that's not completely true.  There are some moths that are out feeding on flowers during the daytime.  Also, the brighter colored moths are sometimes thought to be butterflies due to their vivid colors and size.  A good rule of thumb, if you are wondering whether it is a moth or a butterfly, is to look at their antennae.  If they are clubbed at the end, you've got a butterfly; if they are feathered or threadlike, it's a
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I'm Blue (da ba dee da ba daa)

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"Yo listen up, here's the story about a little blue bird that lives in a blue world"...  or however the song went. Most people my age are driving their kids to school, going to PTA meetings and parent teacher conferences, ballet recitals or judo matches.  Me?  I'm monitoring nesting Eastern Bluebirds ( Sialia sialis ) and making sure that they're happy and healthy.  I'm still very, very new to this, but with the help and of Mr. A and lots of research (thanks sialis.org ), I am happy to report that I have a full nest!   A few weeks ago I woke to a message on my phone: "There has been an early delivery to your house!".  I ran outside and saw that Mr. A had dropped off 2 beautiful cavity boxes, along with all of the equipment I would need to set them up (including a 3lb hammer that would put Mjolnir to shame).  Earlier, we had been discussing the work he did at the sparrow swap, and how the museum had land where they set these boxes up to give the blueb
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Getting Started

In 2012 I was finishing up my Associate's degree and I needed just 4 more credit hours to graduate.  My advisor was helping me look for something that would fit my schedule and count towards my program.  After maybe 10 minutes he looked at me and said "Do you like bugs?!".  I knew that I hated spiders (I thank that movie "Eight Legged Freaks") but never really thought twice about insects.  I knew what bees, butterflies and ladybugs were.  I couldn't tell a carpenter bee from a bumble bee or a monarch from a swallowtail, however.  My mom always took the time to point out the pretty ladybugs when I was little or show us the butterfly on a flower; but I never knew much about them. Mr. S was the entomology professor and he needed a minimum of 10 students to hold the class that semester.  I figured I could handle 16 weeks of learning about insects, so I signed up.   Best. Decision. EVER!!! I fell in love with these little creepy crawlies that are literally everyw
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