Sunday, August 23, 2015

Introducing Moths

Hello! I am a NUS freshman in Environmental Studies and I'm starting my environmental blog! After much thought, I decided to focus on conserving local moth and butterfly species by examining how they adapt to the changing environment all over the world. I hope that my readers become more aware of the consequences of our actions on the environment and on the moth and butterfly population.

It seems that these nocturnal fliers are seen as
 brown, annoying pests with Singaporeans.
[source: http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/594116-reaction-images]



First, I think I should introduce moths to my fellow Singaporeans, so that they can see the value in working towards the protection of our local species.

1. They come in all shapes, sizes and colours.

Moths are great at adapting to their environment and have evolved to impersonate other less palatable insects such as spiders, wasps and praying mantis. There is a species that mimics the shape of bird droppings to avoid getting snatched right off the tree by predators! (Lindsey Konkel, 2012)

They can also range from having wingspan of 30cm like the Atlas moth, or 2.5mm like a very recently discovered moth in Congo.




poop moth
Not so appetizing.
[source: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/this-moth-looks-like-bird-poop-on-purpose]


2. They are important pollinators for many species of plants.

While butterflies and bees are known as the biggest pollinators, moths such as sphinx moth and yucca moths do their fair share of transferring pollen from flower to flower. (Moisset, Beatriz)


Sphinx moth at work 
[Source: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/animals/moths.shtml]

3. They are important food source for birds and bats. 

Big catch!
[source: http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/b/biodiversity/archive/2013/02/18/guest-blog-in-the-still-of-the-night.aspx]

Since we now know how amazing moths are and the roles they play in the environment, let us appreciate them as creatures worth the attention and some measures to protect them in Singapore. 



In the next post, I will be looking into how moths have adapted to changes in the environment due to human activity and some measures organisations have taken to protect them.


[source: http://media.giphy.com/media/m35m4kJ0CBf5m/giphy.gif]



References

Konkel, Lindsey (2012). 7 Things You Don’t Know About Moths, But Should. LiveScience.com, [online] [Accessed 23 Aug. 2015] 

Moisset, Beatriz. Yucca moths (Tegeticula sp.), United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/yucca_moths.shtml, [online] [Accessed 23 Aug. 2015]