6th Annual Moth Night at Backyard Butterflies

Join us for our celebration of National Moth Week at our 6th Annual Moth Night at Backyard Butterflies! This is an all ages welcome, family-friendly event that is a safe, welcoming venue for all people to attend and enjoy the magic and mystery of our moth friends and other night time insects, spiders, and critters. 

*** REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED AND LIMITED DUE TO AVAILABILITY OF PARKING SPACE ** 

Registration is PER CAR, not per person. Bring as many people in your car as you can safely fit.

What to Expect

Our annual moth night is an introduction to the life-changing and addictive hobby of "mothing" in the comfort of your backyard. The evening will begin with a 30 minute presentation explaining what are moths, their life cycle, how to best support them, what kind of equipment we use, and what we expect to see on the collecting sheets.

Visit our event webpage to learn more about what is mothing. If you have questions, please reach out to us!

Inclement Weather

Mothing is a weather dependent activity. We will send out announcements to registered attendees about any start time delays, postponement, or cancellation. Rain date is the following night, July 27, 2024.

What to Bring

We recommend bringing the following items:

• Flashlight or headlamp
• Portable outdoor chair
• Camera (cell phone, any kind with a macro setting or lens)
• Snacks or non-alcoholic beverages
• Anything that will make your time mothing enjoyable
• Insect repellent

What to Wear

For your comfort and safety we have attire recommendations:

• Close-toed shoes that are sturdy -- For safety reasons we recommend not wearing flip-flops or sandals
• Wear long pants and snug fitting shirt -- Insects will fly into or crawl into open clothing areas. They will tickle you.

What Equipment We Will Use

We will have a total of 3 light sheet stations.

2 Sheets will be lit by LepiLED lights

1 Sheet will be lit by a mercury vapor and UV light

iNaturalist Project Mini Contest

Join our special 6th Annual Moth Night Project on iNaturalist and be a citizen scientist! Prizes for our mini contest will be a free Moth Night T-shirt to the top contributors to Most Observations, Most Moth Species, and Most Non-Moth Species. T-shirt featured below.

Moth Night Merch

Limited Edition Moth Night T-shirts will be available to purchase through July 28, 2024. T-shirts are print-on-demand and shipped to your address. Delivery takes about 5-10 days -- be sure to order in time to wear your shirt to the Moth Night! 

Link to purchase T-shirts: BUY NOW.

T-shirt Pricing

S, M, L, XL $15

2XL $17

3XL $19

Shipping rate starts at $4.69 for one item.