(l-r) Small-eyed sphinx and green marvel moths. Images captured on Fishers Island by nationally-recognized Delaware entomologist Doug Tallamy.

Don’t miss a rare opportunity to marvel at the numbers and diversity of moths on Fishers Island this Friday night July 16 from 9 p.m.-10 p.m. (and later!) outside the State Troopers barracks adjacent to the Parade Grounds.

Texas entomologist Adam Mitchell PhD is organizing and presenting the Moth Event. Dr. Mitchell is intimately familiar with the flora and fauna of Fishers Island having spent several summers here preparing his PhD thesis.

“We will be setting up a mercury vapor lamp, which projects light with high lumen (light) capacity. This should attract moths, beetles and other nocturnal insects to a bedsheet that we will hang near the lamp to provide a place for insects to rest,” Dr. Mitchell said.

“Large moths start to take flight between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. and continue until dawn. The mercury vapor lamp will be on all night, as different species take flight at different times. Our purpose is to determine the diversity of native moths on the Island and to continue developing a species inventory for FIConservancy.

“I’ll be near the sheet likely until midnight and will return before dawn to take photos, inventory, and remove the sheet–otherwise the birds will have a very bountiful breakfast!”

Continue learning about flora and fauna Saturday, July 17 at 10 a.m., when Dr.Mitchell will lead a walking tour of native grasslands at the Parade Grounds.