L-R Quintin Arias, Jenilee Montes & Diony Velasquez (photo courtesy of J. Montes)
Jenilee Montes is hosting a NMW event at Henri Pittier National Park in Aragua, Venezuela. The park occupies most of the northern state of Aragua and much of the northeastern state of Carabobo, and includes a considerable swath of the Venezuelan Coastal Range. The park has habitat for a large array of biodiversity and is considered a “biodiversity hotspot” of the tropical Andes.
Cloud forest in Henri Pittier National Park (photo by J. Montes)
The park is divided into several sections. Jenilee’s team works in the Rancho Grande section at the Dr. Alberto Fernandez Yepez Biological Station which is managed by the Universidad Central de Venezuela. Since the 1940s the biological station has supported studies of the flora, fauna and other natural resources of the area. The station hosts researchers from around the world who are fascinated by the extraordinary diversity of life in the cloud forests.
Moths at a Venezuelan light trap (photo by J. Montes)
Jenilee’s National Moth Week event will be hosted at the Museum of the Institute of Agricultural Zoology Francisco Fernandez Yépez. This museum houses the largest insect collection in Venezuela and is one of the most important in the region, with over 3.5 million specimens. The museum is dedicated to the study of tropical biodiversity, with the knowledge that our biological heritage is closely related to the preservation and sustainable use of our ecosystems.