PhD Candidate Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan
Moths live in increasingly urban environments. These novel landscapes are characterized by built and impervious surfaces, sparse and homogenized flora, air and water pollution, and near-constant light. Moths’ dependence on specific host plants for reproduction, and their sensitivity to artificial light at night (ALAN) have left them particularly affected by these changes to their habitat. We surveyed moths in community gardens that varied in floral resource quality and exposure to artificial light at night to assess how features of urbanization affect moth assemblage distribution. Additionally, we swabbed collected moths for pollen to infer their pollination capacity in these environments. In all, pollen grains were detected on the mouthparts of 89% of detected species, 68% of individual moths. Overall, the quality of floral resources was significantly influential on both diversity and abundance of moths in community gardens. These findings are in line with similar work done looking at diurnal insects, which are also largely influenced by the availability of floral resources in urban spaces.