Tips and tricks for creating a pollinator-friendly yard and garden
Moths are important and effective pollinators. They are usually overlooked or missed because most are active at night and they are less showy than butterflies.
Here are three species of moths that you may spot in your garden tonight:
Primrose Moth
Look for a small moth with pale pink wings and a furry, cream-coloured head, like the one the feature photo.
Plant common evening-primrose to support primrose moths during both their caterpillar and adult life stages. If you’re lucky, you may find one sleeping in the flowers during the day.
Large Maple Spanworm Moth
Like others in the geometrid family, this moth rests with their wings spread flat. Their colour ranges from brown to yellow and their wings have a scalloped edge that helps them mimic a leaf for camouflage.
Add light-coloured plants like Culver’s root to your garden to attract large maple spanworm with its nectar.
Pandorus Sphinx Moth
The large, fuzzy body and uniquely shaped wings make the Pandorus sphinx moth a rewarding find. Their green and brown colouring helps them blend in perfectly with their surroundings.
Include sweet-smelling flowers like common milkweed in your garden to attract the pandorus sphinx moth. Like a hummingbird, this moth hovers when drinking nectar.
Caring For Your Yard
How to Support Moths in Your Garden
The presence of a variety of pollinators, including moths, is an indicator of a healthy and biodiverse garden. Following these tips will help you create an aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly backyard and garden, while also encouraging these nighttime pollinators to drop by.
Nighttime Blooms
Native wildflowers, shrubs and trees in your garden benefit many species of moths. Plants that bloom at night are often lighter coloured making them easier for moths to find and pollinate. Other native plants may attract moths too, like the grey-headed coneflower being visited by the clover looper moth photographed above.
Leave the Leaves
Leaf litter, old stems and other debris from plants provide a place for moths to spend the winter throughout their life stages. If you’re concerned about your garden looking messy, leave old plant material at the back of your garden or in other places that are out of sight.
Turn off the Lights
Bright outdoor lighting confuses moths, disrupts mating behaviors and leaves them vulnerable to predators. Use motion-activated lights or soft amber bulbs to reduce light pollution.
Accept Some Leaf-nibbling
After hatching from eggs, caterpillars primarily eat leaves. Most native moths cause minimal damage to plants and are part of a healthy garden food chain. Encourage natural pest control in your garden by welcoming birds and beneficial insects.
Plant of the Month
Common Evening-Primrose
Oenothera biennis
As they unfurl late in the day, the lemony-yellow flowers of common evening-primrose release a pleasant scent to attract moths and other pollinators.
Care Notes
As a biennial, common evening-primrose will grow in a sandy garden with full to partial sun for up to two years. To ensure growth each year, press seeds lightly into the top layer of soil in late winter or very early spring.
In its first year, common evening-primrose grows close to the ground, its leaves forming a rosette. Its second year is marked by significant upward growth and mid-to-late summer blooms. They can grow 60 to 120 centimetres tall, but you can keep the stems shorter with a Chelsea Chop in the spring.
If Japanese beetles find them, simply knock these pests off into a container of soapy water to remove.
An Overnight Star
With abundant nectar available all night, these plants are one of the best for supporting local moths looking for food from twilight to early morning. The primrose moth, pearly wood nymph and white-lined sphinx rely on common evening-primrose to support their caterpillar and moth life stages.
Choose common evening-primrose for the back of native plant gardens, or along fencelines, and combine with other medium-to-tall native species, such as grey goldenrod, common boneset and little bluestem.