National Moth Week is pleased to welcome Oz Rittner of Tel Aviv University in Israel as the newest NMW country coordinator.

Oz is the Lepidoptera collection manager at the Steinhardt Museum at the Israel National Center for Biodiversity Studies at the university. He started and maintains Israel-nature-site.com and has been an NMW partner since the beginning.

“I have a great interest in moths and beetles, in particular,” Oz says. “From the age of 14, I started to collect butterflies, and soon enough I realized that moths are the ones that need more special attention. Later, I started studying beetles as well for the same reason.”

In addition to being the collection manager at the museum, Oz is also a photographer there and is dedicated to capturing images of elusive moths.

He operates light traps across Israel “in order to encounter rare and unique species that elude the eyes otherwise.”

“This gives me the best conditions for photographing but it’s also the best tool to actually see many interesting species and collect large amount of data in just a few hours,” he says. “For me photography and taxonomy are mere tools for studying the insects fauna of Israel, which are very diverse and still in great need of research.”

As a country coordinator, Oz will help promote National Moth Week throughout Israel and encourage people of all ages and abilities to participate by hosting or attending events and submitting photos and data to partner websites.

This year, National Moth Week will celebrate tiger moths, members of the Arctiinae subfamily of the Erebidae family of Lepidoptera. Tiger moths are found throughout the world and can have striking colors and wing patterns.

Started in New Jersey in 2012, National Moth Week (NMW) invites people of all ages and abilities to learn about and observe moths  by holding or attending “moth nights” or educational programs in backyards, parks, nature centers, museums and anywhere a light can be turned on in the dark to watch nighttime nature come to life.

Last year, more than 450 events were registered on the National Moth Week site in all 50 states and 42 countries around the world. Since NMW began, mothing events have been held in a total of 74 countries on every inhabited continent and major island nations.

Moth-ers can submit their photos and data to NMW’s partner organizations, as well as the NMW Flickr group, which now has nearly 70,000 photos of moths from around the world.

Anyone can register a public or private event or find one to attend in their area by checking nationalmothweek.org for public events. Registration is free to individuals, groups and organizations.

As of today there are a total of 414 participants, from 38 countries, registered for NMW 2015.

For more information and to find events in your area check out the NMW map:

As of today there are a total of 400 participants, from 38 countries, registered for NMW 2015.

For more information and to find events in your area check out the NMW map:

As of today there are a total of 388 participants, from 38 countries, registered for NMW 2015.

For more information and to find events in your area check out the NMW map:

As of today there are a total of 384 participants, from 38 countries, registered for NMW 2015.

For more information and to find events in your area check out the NMW map:

Many people wonder when they see abug: Will it sting? Is it dangerous? I’ve never seen it before!
          When confronted with an unfamiliar,many-legged creature in or near the home, people all over the world can nowpoint a phone at it and capture a decent image. Then they can post the image on Reddit’s whatsthisbug, a non-profit site, and our growing team of experts will quickly provide identification and information. The vast majority of submissions are benign critters that cohabit cities and towns, and our readers are often relieved by the news.
          Our 37000 readers do not merely provide excellent identifications, they promote an atmosphere of scientific curiosity,fascination, and general appreciation of the arthropods. The community stands firmly against language that promotes fear or disgust toward the natural world,and consistently encourages participation from people who are uncomfortable around bugs or spiders.
          Many of our readers are introducing themselves to entomology via the internet, and use the identification forum as a “practice ground” for their growing skills. Sometimes participants post IDchallenges (first image) to keep everybody on their feet.
          Submissions often contain fascinating and unique content. Two of our users have probably found undescribed species, agall-midge in Costa Rica (second image) and an aquatic wasp in Texas. (http://bugguide.net/node/view/1063393)One submission from Peru went viral: the small silken spires encrusting tree trunks. It was later identified as a spider’s egg-protecting structure and was featured in National Geographic. (http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/06/what-created-this-mysterious-picket-fence-in-the-amazon/)
          There are still a surprising number of people who feel very strongly against insects and spiders. We hear from these folks almost daily, and do our best to bring people to a greater understanding of the natural world. It is an uphill battle, but we regularly hear from readers whose outlook has been completely turned around by participation on our site. 

As of today there are a total of 379 participants, from 38 countries, registered for NMW 2015.

For more information and to find events in your area check out the NMW map:

As of today there are a total of 373 participants, from 38 countries, registered for NMW 2015.

For more information and to find events in your area check out the NMW map: