BioBlitz Series - Moth and Butterfly (Lepidoptera) Blitz

 Noctuid moth, Lepipolys perscripta
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From June 12 to 14, 2004, the National Park Service, Maine Entomology Society, and Maine Forest Service hosted 35 professional and amateur entomologists, who volunteered 1,492 hours to conduct the first-ever moth and butterfly blitz in the Schoodic District of Acadia National Park. Participants recorded 18 butterfly and 140 moth species. A number of these moth species were new Maine records. Given the interest and success of this blitz, park staff and the Maine Entomology Society are hoping to conduct future annual collecting efforts for Lepidoptera and/or other invertebrate species in the park.

For a first-hand account of the Lepidoptera Blitz, you can read an article by Dr. Brian Scholtens of the College of Charleston (South Carolina) in the winter 2004-2005 Friends of Acadia Journal (pdf).

A volunteers checks the net for captured butterflies. Portable lights were used to attract moths at night. This moth, placed in a jar when captured, is one of 140 moth species identified during the blitz.
Volunteers spent many hours sorting and identifying specimens. A researcher carefully pins and labels moth and butterfly specimens. A sampling of the species captured during the blitz are pinned and labeled on foam.

Visit the following pages for more information about other BioBlitzes conducted at Acadia National Park: Ant Blitz, Beetle Blitz, and Fly Blitz.

Last Updated: 24-Aug-2006
Contact: Editor
http://www.nps.gov /archive/acad/serc/research/lepblitz.htm