By David Jimenez, Education Coordinator
A Calleta Silkmoth
Photo by Pedro Rangel
One of the benefits of supporting and maintaining a Natural Area is the resulting native biodiversity thriving in a reliable ecosystem that may have otherwise been lost. Phil Hardberger Park is 330 acres filled with flora and fauna of all shapes and sizes that you may discover along our well-worn paths, winding under Oak, Persimmon and Ashe Juniper canopies. Though many species are diurnal, and can be seen darting beneath the white brush, one of the largest groups of animals in the park is often missed due to being active when the sun goes down and the gates are closed: Moths.
The order of animals known as Lepidoptera – Moths – have existed on the planet for close to 190 million years, though they looked a little different then. These diminutive yet graceful creatures have evolved brilliant adaptations, behaviors, symbiotic relationships with other species in their respective ecosystems, and even later spawned a more popular sub-group of colorful moths called Papilionoidea, also known as Butterflies. While often overlooked for their more colorful progeny, Moths are vital to many natural areas for the roles they play: Pollinators, Decomposers, and much of the time, unwilling participants in the food chain.
Phil Hardberger Park is home to perhaps hundreds of moths, ranging from the massive Sphinx Moth varieties to the stunning white Salt Marsh Moth, to species so small and well-hidden that they’re almost impossible to identify and have names along the lines of ‘tiny delta shaped brown and gray moth’. During the day, they may cling to a wall or bark, hidden and unmoving, hoping to make it to dusk when they can begin their nightly tasks of feeding and frolicking.
A White-lined Sphinx Moth feeding from Autumn Sage. Photo by Patsy Kuentz
Our park contains many flowering plants to feed the Moths each season, an absolute oasis amongst a desert of human development. With compound eyes evolved to detect flowers at night, especially in clusters of white or pale colors, and in forms where the nectar is abundant and out of reach of shorter-tongued insects like bees and beetles, they feed. One particular flowering plant attracts a specific moth during a blooming season where the adult phase of the moths must line up perfectly: the Yucca.
This mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship is brilliant and yet fragile. Yucca Moths are one of the oldest moth species and have had ample time to perfect their niche in the world. The larvae of the yucca moth can only consume seeds of the yucca, and the Yucca flowers can only be pollinated by the imago, or the winged adult life stage of the moth. In spring and summer, small, silvery white, and roughly an inch in length moths emerge from cocoons underground after several weeks to several years and seek the mild fragrance of the tender blooms of the Yucca lit by the moon. The adult moths collect bits of pollen on specialized feeding organs under their head to distribute while feeding, a task performed efficiently. And yet, this pair of organisms still have obstacles to overcome. On top of being prey for birds and other insects, the tender flowers are a favorite of deer, and worse, studies have shown that the impacts of climate change are altering the growing seasons, causing them to misalign with the emergence of whole generations of insects needed to pollinate them. This is most concerning with species like the Yucca and Yucca Moth, who rely so explicitly on each other, but has impacts across the board as more and more species are impacted in a domino-like effect.
This ancient biological partnership is a wonderful phenomenon one can witness in our park, and with the support of us as stewards of nature, hopefully for generations to come. As you stroll through the park, let your eyes wander to the tree trunks and sheltered walls where these oft-overlooked creatures spend their days in repose.