From a local home grown effort to an international phenomenon, National Moth Week has become an “overnight” sensation among citizen scientists. The effort, which was started by School of Environmental and Biological Sciences researcher Liti Haramaty in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and doctoral student in entomology David Moskowitz, takes place in July with nighttime events around the globe to seek out the lepidopterans that inhabit the night. As a testament to its significance, National Moth Week is now an entry in the free encyclopedia Wikipedia, and includes a link to the Rutgers University entry.
“We are thrilled to have another source of information about National Moth Week in a Wikipedia entry,” said Haramaty. “The importance of citizen science is growing and being recognized globally and Wikipedia is often the first place people go to when looking for information. I am certain that being part of it will contribute to the growth of National Moth Week.”
National Moth Week is a project of the Friends of the East Brunswick (NJ) Environmental Commission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to environmental education and conservation. The event grew out of local summer “Moth Nights” organized by Moskowitz and Haramaty of the commission since 2005.
The 2015 National Moth Week event takes place July 18 – 26. 2015 is designated the Year of the Hawkmoth.
