Historically there has not been a lot of information available about the species of moths in Iowa. Fortunately there has been some recent work. Jim Durban, Keith Summerville, and Frank Olsen have done a lot of work with the group. Their list can be found at Jim's web site, www.insectsofiowa.com.

Moths range from very small species with wingspans of less than an inch (often termed micromoths) to the very large luna and polyphemus moths.

Moths are usually considered to be less colorful than the butterflies, but if you look closely at them you will discover that is not true. Moths can be among the most colorful of the insects.

In addition, moths are important because they are major pollinators of plants.

Since most moths fly at night, they can often be attracted by lights.  Using black lights often attract different species.  Some moths are not attracted to light, but can be brought to baits smeared onto logs.  The baits can be concoctions of molasses, beer, rotten fruit, and other ingredients.

So dedicated moth people can sometimes be found sitting on their porches at night, near lights, finishing off some of the excess ingredients from their moth baits.