Closely related to our much loved butterflies, moths are often under-appreciated in the ranks of pollination. Widespread and numerous, they play key roles in ecosystems and are major players in pollination contribution.
We are familiar with daytime pollinators such as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds that prefer warm, sunny days to visit their flowers. In fact, their muscles need a certain temperature to even function. But who takes over the evening shift when those daytime pollinators complete their nine to five? They turn it over to the unsung and often unrecognized moths. Not all moths are nocturnal; a small number of species of moths are very active in the daytime, while most others are more active at dusk. Moths regulate their body temperature by using flight muscles to make small, rapid vibrations. Their bodies are covered with little heat insulating hairs that make them such efficient pollinators that they can pick up pollen on every flower they land on.
Hummingbird hawk moth on Liatris. Photo by Eleanor Dietrich.
One of the most easily seen garden moths is the hawkmoth, often compared to a hummingbird because it hovers, rapidly beating its wings. They must consume copious amounts of nectar to maintain their high metabolism and speed. These giant moths fly upwind, tracking the evening fragrance of lightly colored flowers. As a naturalist, one of the greatest thrills in the garden is to see a large hawkmoth unfurl its proboscis and drink from a native azalea bloom while hovering in place. Of course that’s one way to observe these pollinators, however, the native azaleas only bloom a few weeks out of the year. Others native plants with staggering bloom times that moths appeal to include blueberries, wild hydrangea, yucca, asters, frog fruit, joe pye weed, boneset, milkweed, horsemint, and goldenrod.
The yucca plant and its moth specialist.
Some native plants even depend on moth pollination for reproduction. For example, the yucca plant is dependent upon the female yucca moth for its survival. In order for pollination to occur, masses of pollen must be forced down into the stigma by the female yucca moth using her specially adapted mouthparts while ensuring cross pollination. Without this process, the yucca flower will not develop into the fruit or seed pod. She also uses the stigma chambers to lay and protect her eggs. By the time the egg hatches into a caterpillar, the yucca will have begun to develop a pod with little seeds. The yucca plant and the yucca moth both benefit in this relationship.
Giant leopard moth on goldenrod. Photo by Eleanor Dietrich.
One of the most important roles that moths play in the ecosystem is as food for wildlife. In fact, an estimated 95 percent of nesting birds rear their young on insects, and moth caterpillars make up a significant part of that number. Both moth adults and caterpillars are key food sources for many animals, including birds, amphibians, reptiles, and even larger mammals like foxes and bears. When you include native plants, the diversity of wildlife supported increases. Less diversity in native larval food plants means less food for moth caterpillars, and therefore, fewer species and numbers of moths. The result – less food to power the web of life. As Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, states it: “Every caterpillar you make in your gardens becomes either a new pollinating moth or butterfly, or a source of food for a hungry bird.”
Take an evening to go “mothing” in your garden and discover the vast, diverse, and secretive realms of pollinating insects. These tiny marvels of nature enrich your garden, play a crucial role in the ecosystem, and provide the functioning habitat that all life depends on.