Mothapalooza Openings!!!

 Luna, Actias luna

Mothapalooza is a guaranteed to be a surefire cool event the likes of which has never taken place before, at least in these parts. It takes place at Shawnee State Park, June 14-16. See all of the details RIGHT HERE. You haven't heard me talk about Mothapalooza much on this blog. That's because, to our utter astonishment, we quickly and completely filled the 120 or so available slots nearly by word of mouth. Small wonder, I suppose: moths are ultra-cool, the event takes place in the midst of the richest treasure trove of biodiversity north of the Ohio River, and we've got the best of the best in the expert leader department. In addition to tons of amazing moths, you'll see scores of birds, lots and lots of plants including a number of rarities, and scads of nonmoth insects.

As sometimes (often) happens with these events, there have  been a few last hour cancellations, which opens up a few slots. Visit the Mothapalooza website to register. Also, if you live anywhere near Cleveland, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has organized one of their famous van trips down to Mothapalooza and has a few seats open. For details on that opportunity, contact Renee Boronka at: rboronka@cmnh.org

Virgin Tiger Moth, Grammia virgo

I am looking forward to Mothapalooza in a major way. The nocturnal field trips are going to be a blast, and I know from personal experience that our light traps will attract blizzards of moths the likes of which you just won't find elsewhere in this area. The day trips will be awesome too, with unrivaled (in Ohio) butterfly diversity, as well as all of the other stuff.

Hope to see you at Mothapalooza, and if you can swing it, jump on one of those open spots!