Miller Moths

It looks like another Miller moth season is upon us.  It’s funny how a small, non-destructive insect can cause so much consternation.  At our house (we recently moved to Saddle Rock North), nobody sleeps until the bedroom has been cleared of these guys.  With vaulted ceilings, this can be a bit of a challenge – thank goodness for the extension hose on the vacuum cleaner.  We have also set up a soap water bucket trap in the basement.  Nature is not going to beat us this year.  Thanks to Google, I now have a new respect for this critter.  They migrate from the plains to the mountains in the spring.  They hang out in the mountains all summer, returning to the plains to lay their eggs in the fall.  The eggs hatch and an Army Cutworm is born, spending the caterpillar phase munching alfalfa and winter wheat crops.  In this phase they are a major pest.

Sure, the Miller moth is unimpressive when compared to the Monarch butterfly when it comes to migrations.  But still, it’s only a an inch or two long and it completes 2 migrations of up to 100 miles during a 4-5 month adult life.  That seems like quite a feat – dodging vacuum cleaners, soapy water traps, and a variety of other predators every step of the way…  Makes my day seem uneventfully safe…