New Jersey Moths

Building on the success of the New Jersey Chapter’s highly praised butterfly website, this similar feature has been developed for moths. But because life-history information for many moth species is incomplete or poorly documented, the species accounts are brief and limited to English name (if commonly in use), Latin name, Family, Subfamily, size (expressed either as wingspan or body length), flight period in NJ, number of broods in NJ, host plants (if known), range in NJ, and comments. A link to a North American range map is also provided. In addition, a four- or five-digit number has been added following the Latin name. These “Hodges numbers” have been assigned to each moth species that occurs north of Mexico. These numbers are quite convenient and can be used to quickly locate more information and photographs on popular websites devoted to moths such as the Moth Photographers Group (MPG) and Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA). Just type in the number in the search field on either website for the species in question to obtain life-history information and photographs of different living specimens. Bugguide.net is another useful on-line resource, though on this site searching by Latin or common name rather than Hodges number is more effective.

The Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America by David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie includes color photographs of living specimens of about 1500 species. It also contains range maps for most of these species and some life-history information. Most of the moths found in NJ are covered in this field guide.

Because there may be 1500 or more species of moths in NJ (compared to about 125 species of butterflies!), and because many of them are poorly known, it will not be practical to prepare written species accounts for every species. So, we have begun with perhaps the most widely known group—the silkmoths—and then plan to proceed through other recognizable groups like the sphinx moths and the underwing moths in the genus Catocala.

All species accounts have been prepared by Wade Wander, past president of the chapter, who has studied moths in his yard in Sussex County since 2001. Appreciation goes to the many people who have contributed photographs, and their names appear on the photos.

We welcome your comments and suggestions.