Here’s why there are so many moths in Las Vegas right now
Some Las Vegas residents started freaking out mid-April after seasonal moths appeared, as they do every year, prompting them to take to social media describing the situation as “mothpocolypse 2015” — but it’s nothing to worry about.
“Two hundred years from now it’s going to be moths and cockroaches battling for supremacy,” a UNLV student wrote on social media app YikYak. “My money is on the moths.”
English instructor Becky Bosshart had to pause a class Tuesday due to the unnerving presence of six or seven moths in her classroom. “It was freaking my students out.”
Tweets from residents around the valley last week described similar situations, saying things like “more like Moth Vegas, am I right?”
The moths are the adult version of the army cutworm, otherwise known as the “miller moth,” which normally appear in spring, according to entomologist Jeff Knight with the Nevada Department of Agriculture. Knight says they are common in Western states and that their appearance in the city isn’t anything to worry about.
Their higher numbers in Las Vegas this spring is due to their life cycle. The cutworm larvae grow through winter, becoming adult moths at the beginning of spring.
From there, the moths take advantage of the blooming flowers to feed before migrating back to higher elevations in the summer, Knight said.
And don’t worry, the moths aren’t going to bite you: They are “strictly nectar feeders.”
However, if you have a problem with them, Knight said, there is “no reason to use pesticide.” Not only is that ineffective, there are better methods to keep them at bay.
The moths will be gone in a week or two, but if they’re bothering you in the meantime, Knight said changing your light bulbs to an amber or yellow color is the best way to deal with them.
The moths are mainly attracted to ultraviolet light, Knight said. Hence their abundance in the city.
As per the cycle, the moths that survive the summer will make a return in the fall, he said, but in small enough numbers that you might not even notice them.
Contact Kristen DeSilva at 702-477-3895 or kdesilva@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kristendesilva