Canada – National Moth Week https://nationalmothweek.org Exploring Nighttime Nature Sun, 02 Jul 2023 03:20:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.5 https://nationalmothweek.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/cropped-nmw_logos_3-32x32.png Canada – National Moth Week https://nationalmothweek.org 32 32 29974611 Aundrea Schneider Takes on Additional Role as NMW’s Social Media Specialist https://nationalmothweek.org/2023/07/01/aundrea-schneider-takes-on-additional-role-as-nmws-social-media-specialist/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=aundrea-schneider-takes-on-additional-role-as-nmws-social-media-specialist https://nationalmothweek.org/2023/07/01/aundrea-schneider-takes-on-additional-role-as-nmws-social-media-specialist/#respond Sun, 02 Jul 2023 03:17:33 +0000 https://nationalmothweek.org/?p=13524 Aundrea Schneider Takes on Additional Role as NMW’s Social Media Specialist Read More »

]]>

As National Moth Week’s country coordinator for Canada, Aundrea Schneider has shown that her enthusiasm for our mission has no bounds. This summer, she has added a new role as social media specialist for our worldwide citizen science project to increase visibility and participation for NMW and communicate its value to wider audiences.

“I accepted this role because it allows me to expand on my current involvement with NMW, further supporting the remarkable team that I’ve been working with over the past year,” Aundrea said. “We’re all living busy lives, and since the project is solely funded by donations, we work together however- and whenever- possible, in order to make National Moth Week a success each year.

“I’m excited to be involved in the social media side of things, because I get to interact with so many passionate moth-ers, artists, scientists and enthusiasts from all over the world!

Aundrea says she plans to post more engaging content, reach out to potential collaborators and “hopefully get some traditions started during the cold seasons, to keep people inspired and having fun.” She says she is keeping some of her ideas under wraps in the meantime.

“My main goal right now is to bring consistency to our social media presence by focusing on the current platforms we’re using – Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and getting those to flow well together,” she added. “I want to create an ease-of-use, in which any member of the team could easily work with, when necessary.”

So far, Aundrea’s work with NMW’s “mothweek” account on Instagram is paying dividends, with a 500+-percent increase in account reach and engagement over the last month. While engagement generally jumps as NMW nears, Aundrea says she enjoys seeing the numbers grow and receiving positive comments from moth-enthusiasts on the platform.

Despite also being very busy developing her business in wilderness education, and training as a Wilderness First Responder instructor, Aundrea will continue to serve as Canada’s country coordinator for now.

“I have enjoyed mothing, spreading awareness, educating and designing promotional content, but I’ve got much to do yet, in terms of growing and coordinating the project, here in Canada,” she says. “There are many great moth advocates and educators that I intend to reach out to, as well.”

We are delighted to welcome Aundrea to the NMW team as our first social media specialist.

]]> https://nationalmothweek.org/2023/07/01/aundrea-schneider-takes-on-additional-role-as-nmws-social-media-specialist/feed/ 0 13524 National Moth Week in High Park, Toronto, Toronto Guest post by: Karen Yukich https://nationalmothweek.org/2020/08/09/national-moth-week-in-high-park-toronto-toronto-guest-post-by-karen-yukich/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=national-moth-week-in-high-park-toronto-toronto-guest-post-by-karen-yukich https://nationalmothweek.org/2020/08/09/national-moth-week-in-high-park-toronto-toronto-guest-post-by-karen-yukich/#respond Mon, 10 Aug 2020 02:04:00 +0000 http://nationalmothweek.org/?p=11245 National Moth Week in High Park, Toronto, Toronto Guest post by: Karen Yukich Read More »

]]> The annual High Park moth night was held on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 situation, this year’s event was co-sponsored by only High Park Nature and the High Park Moth Study group and had a restricted number of participants, all of whom are regular members of the moth study group. The weather was clear and warm, very conducive to a productive session.

A total of 135 species of moths were identified, including 4 new for the High Park Moth Study, bringing the study’s all-time total to 1028 species! This citizen science project began in 2016 and broke through the 1000 species mark earlier this season. For more about the study, see Meet the Mothia, in the Toronto Star.

This year’s moth night also brought out a good variety of other insects, particularly leafhoppers and small beetles.

High Park, Toronto is a large urban park (161 ha, about 400 acres) with diverse habitats including a globally rare black oak savannah. For more information about the park see highparknature.org. Our public Moth Night event has been held annually for about two decades in partnership with the Toronto Entomologists’ Association, the High Park Nature Centre, High Park Nature and more recently the High Park Moth Study group. We look forward to hosting another public event next year.

  • Anacampsis nonstrigella
  • Fragile White Carpet Moth, Hydrelia albifera
Two of the new species, photos courtesy of David Beadle
]]> https://nationalmothweek.org/2020/08/09/national-moth-week-in-high-park-toronto-toronto-guest-post-by-karen-yukich/feed/ 0 11245 High Park (Toronto, Canada) 2016 NMW event. Guest post by Karen Yukich https://nationalmothweek.org/2016/11/11/hide-park-toronto-canada-2016-nmw-event-guest-post-by-karen-yukich/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hide-park-toronto-canada-2016-nmw-event-guest-post-by-karen-yukich https://nationalmothweek.org/2016/11/11/hide-park-toronto-canada-2016-nmw-event-guest-post-by-karen-yukich/#respond Sat, 12 Nov 2016 01:47:34 +0000 http://nationalmothweek.org/?p=9460 High Park (Toronto, Canada) 2016 NMW event. Guest post by Karen Yukich Read More »

]]>

Each summer the Toronto Entomologists’ Association holds a public Moth Night event in High Park in partnership with the High Park Nature Centre and High Park Nature.

Our event was held on July 28, 2016. As usual there were many micros plus about a dozen male gypsy moths and a few other mid-size moths. The total count was 65 (lower than usual) with 5 new species for High Park.

One new species, Variable Narrow-wing ”Magusa divaricata” is a more southerly species that sometimes strays further north in mid to late summer.

magusa-divaricata-david-beadle-2016
Variable Narrow-wing (Magusa divaricata). Photo credit: David Beadle

 

 The all-time list and other information are posted on the moth page our website highparknature.org 

]]> https://nationalmothweek.org/2016/11/11/hide-park-toronto-canada-2016-nmw-event-guest-post-by-karen-yukich/feed/ 0 9460 High Park Moth Night, guest post by Karen Yukich https://nationalmothweek.org/2015/10/12/high-park-moth-night-guest-post-by-karen-yukich/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=high-park-moth-night-guest-post-by-karen-yukich https://nationalmothweek.org/2015/10/12/high-park-moth-night-guest-post-by-karen-yukich/#respond Mon, 12 Oct 2015 13:07:03 +0000 http://nationalmothweek.org/?p=8283 High Park Moth Night, guest post by Karen Yukich Read More »

]]> High Park ( Toronto, Canada) Moth Night was held on July 22, 2015:

Mea skinnerella-DavidBeadle

Mea skinnerella. Photo: David Beadle

Highlights: A tiny Mea skinnerella appears to be the first record for Ontario. Many other micros boosted the count total, but larger moths, including 7 species of underwing, were also present. The total count was 113 species plus one identified only to genus. 33 species were added to the all-time list, including the striking Beautiful Wood-nymph, Eudryas grata. About 60 adults and children participated.

IDtable7-IreneWilk
The ID table. Photo: Irene Wilk

This annual event is co-sponsored by the Toronto Entomologists’ Association and the High Park Nature Centre with assistance from High Park Nature. David Beadle, TEA member and co-author of the Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America, led the team of TEA volunteers who arranged the setup and provided IDs.

High Park is a large urban park in Toronto (about 400 acres). About 1/3 of the park consists of nationally rare oak savannah and woodlands. For more information about the park and its natural features, visit www.highparknature.org. A list of current and past Moth Night sightings is posted on the Moth Gallery page of this website.

]]> https://nationalmothweek.org/2015/10/12/high-park-moth-night-guest-post-by-karen-yukich/feed/ 0 8283 High Park Moth Night, Toronto, Canada https://nationalmothweek.org/2014/10/02/high-park-moth-night-toronto-canada/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=high-park-moth-night-toronto-canada https://nationalmothweek.org/2014/10/02/high-park-moth-night-toronto-canada/#respond Fri, 03 Oct 2014 02:06:35 +0000 http://nationalmothweek.org/?p=6919 High Park Moth Night, Toronto, Canada Read More »

]]>  Guest post by Karen Yukich

High Park Moth Night was held on July 30 this year, after a late-day thunderstorm cleared up just in time. This annual event is co-sponsored by the Toronto Entomologists’ Association and the High Park Nature Centre. Over 50 people attended, ranging from young families to senior naturalists. Moths were attracted with lights and sheets, as well as “moth goop” on trees. Over 60 species were seen – about average for this event – including six underwing species. About 18 species were all-time additions. David Beadle, TEA member and co-author of the Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America, led the team of TEA volunteers who arranged the setup and provided IDs. Staff from the High Park Nature Centre and Tom Mason (retired curator of invertebrates from Toronto Zoo) provided an introduction to moths.

High Park is a large urban park in Toronto (about 400 acres). About 1/3 of the park consists of nationally rare oak savannah and woodlands. For more information about the park and its natural features, visit www.highparknature.org. A list of current and past Moth Night sightings is posted on the Moths page of this website.

]]> https://nationalmothweek.org/2014/10/02/high-park-moth-night-toronto-canada/feed/ 0 6919