Mothing in Alaska

“Mothing in Alaska” was sent to NMW by Ken Philip

I know of only two people in Alaska who collect moths: Jim Kruse, and me.

UV light traps work much better in August than July (and you can forget about June!). Of course, Alaska does have moths. I have attached a photo showing what turned up (day-flying) on Round Island, Bristol Bay over the last three summers.

The series of ten specimens is Arctia opulenta. The single specimen at the bottom is Platarctia parthenos. Both are Arctiids. A. opulenta is so common on Round Island that my collectors were sending me wings they picked up off the ground–presumably the results of predation by birds.

Here is a photo I made recently showing 12 species of Arctiids from Alaska. And that’s not all of them…

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