moths!!! (or, It's Miller Time!!!)


A mild winter and a wet spring means moths galore in the mountains! 

By moths, we mean Miller Moths (Euxoa auxiliaris):

They are high calorie (one entymologist suggested that if you didn't like 'em, you should eat 'em!). At 72 percent fat, them millers are the fattiest animals on the planet! Bears like to eat them.

Like you and me, Millers like cool temps (no greater than 80), so they like the mountains, flying as high as 14,000 feet. They come from army cutworms. The cutworms are born at lower elevations and then, after pupating, the resulting moths migrate to the mountains to nocturnally feed on wildflower nectar. Later, in the fall, the moths migrate back down to the valley to lay eggs and begin the cycle once again.

These moths can be quite the nuisance at the cabin. They seem to like wittle cubbyholes and cracks to sleep in during the day. Like bats, if they find an entrance that leads to a cavity, they'll bring their friends. 

Here's a photo of one of the double-hung windows after I opened it:

What the holy hell! Turns out they were slipping into the space behind the screen through the drain holes at the bottom. Once I screen those holes, we don't see as many, but they still somehow get it. They also appear when you open the sliding doors.

What we do is have the hand vacuum ready to suck them up and then release them outside (away from the cabin). Also, make sure to close the sliding doors when the sun goes down. Like any good moth, Millers are attracted to lights. And remember, National Moth Week is every July.

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