07/27/2026
Oh, hello. I hope you weren’t going to bed without saying good night! 🌝
The sun has set on Moth Week, but the night is just beginning. Often forgotten (*totally* not forgotten about by the social media team) and under-appreciated, moths play an important role in Idaho’s ecology–we could even say a keystone role. They’re an effective pollinator–superior to honeybees–and pulls double-shifts by visiting plants during the day and night. The larvae and caterpillar forms provide food for birds while the adult forms are preyed upon by bats and birds.
Support the underdogs of the garden by planting these:
* = nectar source
Perennials:
Anise Hyssop
Aster*
Bee balm
Blanketflower*
Columbine (Rocky Mtn Blue/Colorado Blue)*
Evening Primrose* (possibly)
Goldenrod*
Milkweed (showy, swamp/rose, common)*
Penstemon (Rocky Mountain, Firecracker/Eaton’s)*
Scarlet Globemallow (or really any mallow species)*
Silvery Lupine*
Sunflower (annual, not a perennial, but great source)*
Yarrow (white/common)
Grasses:
Basin Wild Rye
Blue Grama*
Idaho Fescue
Little Bluestem*
Shrubs & Trees:
Burr Oak (possible host)
Chokecherry and others of the Prunus family (host)
Cottonwood (Narrowleaf, Plains)
Elderberry*
Golden currant
Ponderosa Pine
Quaking Aspen (possible host)
Red-Osier Dogwood*
Saltbush (possible host)
Serviceberry (host)
Sumac (Fragrant/Three-Lobed)
Viburnum (host)
Willow (native willows provide good habitat & hosts)*
You can further support moths and other insects by:
- reducing insecticide/pesticide use or eliminating altogether (this is the single-most effective thing anyone can do!)
- provide overwintering sites by keeping a loose pile of leaf litter in tucked or protected corners (away from the prying eyes of your local HOA 🤫)
- delay spring clean ups until temps are consistently above 50°
- leave hollow dead stems up for nesting larvae
- turn outside lights off or use warm-color bulbs on low; or use motion-sensing lights
- plant ground cover to provide habitat
Without these lil' guys, our gardens and landscape would look very different, a little less beautiful, a little less enchanting.
📸: Yuanda "Darian" Shen
