Always out here, looking for . . .
And sometimes I find it stuck to my own front door!
Meet the Ennomos magnaria moth . . . of the family Geometridae. He’s pretty small. At first I thought it was just another fall leaf, stuck to my door. But nope. Moth!
And guess where he will overwinter? In the leaves. On the ground.
So guess what will happen if I tidy up my garden for the winter? Yeah . . .
I know many of you have read – and loved – Margaret Renkl’s The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year. Well. Now’s the time to think hard about Margaret’s words . . . and do something different in your own yards and gardens this year. Something for the moths and the butterflies, the birds and the bees. And for all the critters who are looking for places to . . . BE in the world – amidst all the pesticides and “mosquito shields” and pristine lawn care “systems.” (They don’t just stop the mosquitos, y’know?)
Leave the leaves. Leave the seed heads. Don’t cut back the stems. (At least some of them.)
And watch this inspirational TED talk (12 minutes) by Rebecca McMackin, self-proclaimed “nerdiest gardener you’ll ever meet.” If you’re inspired by Margaret Renkl, take the next step and learn about what you can do in your own garden. Because every step helps.
And every step brings hope!
I have a lot of those moths where I live as well as some others that are easily overlooked. I agree wholeheartedly that we need to stop killing the outdoor bugs! My neighbors spread every chemical known to Monsanto in their yards and in the air, and I find it so disheartening. I do mulch some of my leaves, is that a bad thing? I live in a forested area, and I have so many leaves! I will have to watch the TED talk.
Fascinating looking creature! I don’t usually cut back my perennials in the fall but was considering it this year to make my spring cleanup a little easier. I’m just going to leave things as they are. Thanks!
What an interesting moth. He would find good rest in my yard. Plenty of leaves.
I’ve never seen this moth! How wonderful to find one and to have read Renkl’s book. I am going to leave my seed heads up on the zinnias this year in the hopes it feeds a bird or two. I’ll talk to Smith about leaving some of the sunflowers in place, too. (He can be ruthless with cleanup.) Renkl has a new book out that is a companion to Comfort of Crows as it is a journal that uses prompts from CofC as a guide to your own nature journal. It’s a lovely book.
Wow. Cool moth! Looking forward to listening to that TED Talk — and sharing with my family (some of whom are rather like Margene’s Smith in the cleaning up department)! Thanks Kym!
That is a cool moth; I’m not sure I would have recognized it as a moth if you hadn’t told me. And I’m always ready to NOT do some chore if by not doing it I’m helping the insects have a nice winter hideaway!
I never tidy my garden from the end of summer to the beginning of spring, I have always left it for the hibernators and those that need places to shelter over the winter.
I’ll keep an eye for that cleverly camouflaged moth … but I’m not sure I’d be able to spot one looking right at it 🙂
What an interesting looking critter. I try to strike a balance in my garden beds of tidying up a bit, especially the vegetable patch and raised bed, and leaving stems and seed heads. The flowers and herbs are nice to clean up in the Spring. Although, I am going to pull a few of the black-eyed susans because they were prolific in so many places.
We wholeheartedly embrace NOT doing a fall clean up over here! I have sleeping bumblebees in my dahlias every day now and I love seeing them there. I know it’s not the same as this but it’s just a way I feel like I am taking care of the pollinators.
That is a very cool-looking moth! I thought it was a leaf at first, too, until I saw the legs.
I always prefer to leave the leaves (ha!), but then the over-zealous landscapers come through and blow away everything. Fortunately there are plenty of areas nearby where weeds grow and leaves fall that no landscaper will touch, so the wildlife doesn’t have to travel too far from my lawn to get to some cover.
That is an amazing moth! Thank you so much for sharing! We only do the leaf clean up where absolutely necessary… because YES… the backyard wildlife needs things to winter in! Thank you for this most excellent reminder!