BAMONA's blog

We are working on a new version of the Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) website and underlying database, with plans for a 2016 release. The site will be responsive (mobile-friendly) and have other improvements.

Due to limitations of the existing technology, we recently had to replace the Google map base layer with a layer from Open Street Map. When the new BAMONA site is launched, we will be able offer better maps again.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Paoloa Olaya-Arenas, a PhD student in Entomology at Purdue University, is seeking crowdfunding support for a research project: Non-target effect of insecticide seed treatment on milkweeds and monarch butterflies.

See https://experiment.com/projects/lxllxqbmxlkcegsrogel for full details and to contribute

The Department of Entomology, Purdue Entomological Research Collection (PERC) and Conferences at Purdue University invite you to attend the 64th Annual Meeting of the Lepidopterists' Society. Please mark your calendars for this meeting, which will be held at Purdue University in the Stewart Center in West Lafayette, Indiana, July 28 - August 2, 2015.

This promises to be an excellent meeting, with numerous field trips, access to important collections (PERC and INHS), a robust scientific program, and plenty of opportunities to reunite with old friends and make new ones! Please visit the 2015 LepSoc website for more information and to register for the meeting: http://www.entm.purdue.edu/perc/lepsoc2015.

Please contact Dr. Jennifer Zaspel (jzaspel@purdue.edu) for any questions about the 2015 LepSoc Meeting.

National Moth Week is July 18-26, 2015.

If you missed it in past years, plan to get involved this year!

Getting involved is easy: attend a National Moth Night event, start an event, join friends and neighbors to check porch lights from time to time, set up a light and see what is in your own backyard, or read literature about moths, etc. Visit the National Moth Week website for more information, or learn how to register.

If you take part in National Moth Week, you can provide your data to us. Take photographs of the moths you find, and come share your sightings with BAMONA. You will need to register for an account, but it is quick and easy to do, and logged in users can track their submissions. Simply take a photograph of a moth, and submit that information to us via our online submission form. Make sure to select "National Moth Week" under the list of Partner Projects.

We'll add the verified records to the database, maps, and checklists, and your data will become part of a growing dataset. To see the records that have been verified so far, visit the National Moth Week Data Explorer.

The Southwest Research Station in Arizona is offering a Lepidoptera Course August 16-25, 2015.

"The course is designed for students, amateur naturalists, conservation biologists, and other biologists who have an interest in learning more about butterfly and moth taxonomy. It will emphasize taxonomy, ecology, and field identification of lepidopterans in southeastern Arizona. Lectures will include background information on the biology of animals and their importance in pollination biology. Field trips will provide participants with collecting, sampling, and observation techniques and lab work will provide instruction on specimen identification, preparation, and labeling."

For the full announcement and application form, visit the course website at http://research.amnh.org/swrs/education/lepidoptera-course.

The Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument will be conducting a Butterfly BioBlitz on Saturday, June 6th, 2015.

For more information about the event visit the website at: www.cascadesiskiyou.org.

All participants are asked to register online before the event. If you have questions about the event, contact the Bioblitz Media Assistant, Nicole Carbone at event.cascadesiskiyou@gmail.com.

The Crater Lake National Park Science and Learning Center is conducting a Lepidoptera BioBlitz on July 26, 2014 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

All participants must pre-register by Wednesday, July 23.

To obtain registration forms, if you are interested in volunteering, or if you have questions about the event, contact the Center's Science Coordinator, Jherime Kellermann at (541) 594-3149 or by email at jherime_kellermann@partner.nps.gov. Emails should include: your name, number of adults, and your best contact phone number.

The Highlands Biological Station, located in the mountains of North Carolina, is offering the following workshops as part of its summer series of field biology courses and workshops. For more information, visit www.highlandsbiological.org/summer-2014/ or call (828) 526-2602.

Butterflies & Moths of the Southern Appalachians
July 21-25 – Dr. David Alsop, Professor Emeritus, Queens College
This workshop will explore the diversity and identification of members of the insect order Lepidoptera. In order to gain quick visual identification of various butterfly families, prepared specimens of the families will be made available together with a discussion of the differences in flight habits of the various families. There will be afternoon collecting (mainly butterflies, but also some day-flying moths) and evening collecting (mainly moths) using black lights. The techniques for spreading Lepidoptera will be discussed.

Introduction to Southern Appalachian Insects
July 28-Aug. 1 – Dr. David Alsop, Professor Emeritus, Queens College
This workshop will explore the most commonly seen and collected insects in the local area. Methods for preserving and identifying insects will be discussed. Environmental constraints on the localities in which insects will occur will be discussed. There will be afternoon collecting and evening “black light” collecting to demonstrate the great diversity of insects available around the research station.

The 63rd Annual Meeting of The Lepidopterists' Society will be held July 16-19, 2014 in Park City, Utah. The meeting theme is "Uniting Amateur and Professional Lepidopterists."

For more information, visit the meeting website.

Get ready for National Moth Week 2014!

BAMONA is a proud supporter of National Moth Week. Plan to take photographs of moths in your area the week of July 19-27, 2014. Then, come to BAMONA and submit your sightings. Be sure to select "National Moth Week" from the partner project list to get your data recorded as part of the Week.

If you plan to host an event for National Moth Week, register on the official website.

Get outside and get into moths!