The Secret Lives of Moths: The Nocturnal Insects with Surprising Pollination Power

By Dr. Chris Cosma, Pollinator Pathway Advisory Board Member. Image: B. Illustrations / Shutterstock 

t’s an hour past sunset, and I’m alone atop a mountain in Southern California, surrounded by darkness. I’m fixated on a 5-gallon bucket, a halo of eerie blue light emanating from the top. A swarm of moths frantically pursues the light, completely entrancing me. This isn’t some odd form of meditation—I’m an ecologist who studies pollinators. Many of these moths (around 60 percent of them, I will later discover) are carrying tiny pollen grains on their long, straw-like mouthparts. Although moths might not be the first creature most people think of when they hear the word “pollinators,” they may be some of the most important on Earth, according to recent research. Globally, moths may even rank with the planet’s most famous pollinators—bees.  

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