Project Noah Fun Fact: Ghost moths

For every day of National Moth Week, our partner, citizen science website Project Noah will be featuring a fun fact about moths.

From Project Noah:

While many female moths and butterflies attract males through the use of pheromores, ghost moths in the family Hepialidae display partial sex role reversal. The males both visually and chemically attract females with their flashy white wings and pheromones while hovering in a display. In addition, females lay their eggs by flying over a stand of the moths foodplants and spraying the eggs during flight. (Mallet 2008)

You can participate in the global citizen science project National Moth Week! National Moth Week 2015 is July 18-26. Visit the website for more information and be sure to register a public or private event! An event can be as simple as observing the moths that come to a porch. During NMW, be sure to post your photos to our website and add them to the National Moth Week mission, Moths of the World!

References:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1984.tb02320.x/abstract