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| Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) on Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum). Rowan County, North Carolina. |
Citizen science has a long tradition. Before science became institutionalized it was practiced in large part by amateurs. The longest-running citizen science project is the National Audubon Christmas Bird Count. It started on Christmas Day in 1900 when people took to the field counting all the birds they saw, rather than shooting them as was the custom. This 125 year data set is invaluable in assessing many biological and climate questions. The information age has spawned platforms that make citizen science easier to do. These include eBird and iNaturalist where millions of people submit information about the natural world that is raw data for scientific analysis.
We have been involved in a couple of citizen science projects this summer, National Moth Week and the Great Southeastern Pollinator Census.
In July people all over the world went out and stayed up late to observe moths. This year over 51,000 observers on six continents identified more than 11,000 species of moths, other insects and spiders.
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| National Moth Month event. Catawba College. Salisbury, North Carolina. |
We participated in several moth nights where we found a startling variety of species. The rig for these moth nights was an open nylon tent with a string of ultraviolet LED lamps. The moths were drawn to the UV lights and landed on the tent. There observers could study and photograph the moths and the information was posted on iNaturalist.
Here are some of the moths that came to our National Moth Month events.
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| Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda). Rowan County, North Carolina. |
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| Eastern Grass Tubeworm Moth (Acrolophus plumifrontera). Catawba College. Salisbury, North Carolina. |
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| Eastern Grass Veneer (Crambus laqueatellus). Catawba College. Salisbury, North Carolina. |
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| Common Tan Wave (Pleuroprucha insulsaria). Catawba College. Salisbury, North Carolina. |
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| Cherry Dagger (Acronicta hasta) and mosquito. Catawba College. Salisbury, North Carolina. |
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| Green Cutworm Moth (Anicla infecta). Catawba College. Salisbury, North Carolina. |
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| American Lotus Borer Moth (Ostrinia penitalis). Catawba College. Salisbury, North Carolina. |
The Great Southeastern Pollinator Census is a program where citizen scientists in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina record pollinators visiting flowers. The Agricultural Extension services in these states coordinate the events. Observers pick a beach ball sized area of flowers and counts each visit to any flower in the area. During the 2025 count more than half a million pollinator visits were recorded by over 27,000 people.
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| Diane doing a pollinator census. Rowan County, North Carolina. |
We visited a friend’s garden and saw butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, hummingbirds and other pollinators. These are some of the pollinators we saw.
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| Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilo glaucus) on Purpletop Vervain (Verbena bonariensis). Rowan County, North Carolina. |
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| Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) on Purpletop Vervain. Rowan County, North Carolina. |
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| American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) on Purpletop Vervain. Rowan County, North Carolina. |
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| Hummingbird Moth (Hemaris thysbe) on Purpletop Vervain. Rowan County, North Carolina. |
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| Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica) on Black and Blue Sage (Salvia guaranitica). Rowan County, North Carolina. |
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| Small Carpenter Bee (Ceratina sp.) on Cup Plant. Rowan County, North Carolina. |
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| Great Black Wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus) on Clustered Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum). Rowan County, North Carolina. |
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| Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) on Silver Sage (Salvia guarantica var Argentine Skys). Rowan County, North Carolina. |
The American evolutionary biologist
E.O. Wilson argued that people have a innate need to connect with the natural world. He
called this biophilia. Citizen science
is a way to channel biophilia into usable data that could help address a myriad
environmental problems we now face.
Thanks to Dr. Carrie DeJaco for guiding us through Moth Month events. Further thanks to Michael and Jennifer Board for inviting us to census the pollinators in their garden.
