National Moth Week shines the porch light on an unlikely hero. Unlike their showier cousins, butterflies, moths get a bad rap from time to time, and that’s fair, as caterpillars of some moth species are agricultural pests. But before you break out the mothballs, take a gander at winged wonders like the comet moth, shown here. Scientists estimate that there are some 160,000 species of moths worldwide, many just as stunning as our comet moth, and tracking their health often helps us gauge the health of entire ecosystems.
And you thought moths were boring
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
National Park Week: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
-
National Roller Coaster Day
-
Indigo bunting
-
World Nature Conservation Day
-
An ice cap-puccino
-
Summer huts in winter
-
Poinsettia Day
-
Crimson-rumped toucanet in the Refugio Paz de Las Aves, Ecuador
-
A whale of a picture
-
Festivus
-
The wild heart of Tasmania
-
Adorable activism
-
What does the fox dream?
-
You ve never seen anything like this
-
Anshun Bridge, Chengdu, China
-
Honoring the rangers on World Ranger Day
-
Over and under the delta
-
Seville, Spain
-
In celebration of America’s national bird
-
Iguazu Falls at the border of Argentina and Brazil
-
Happy Canada Day!
-
Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
-
Lionfish off the coast of Indonesia
-
It’s Endangered Species Day
-
Maya site of Copán
-
Asteroid Day
-
Hello, spring!
-
Memorial Day
-
Swinging into International Jazz Day
-
Assembling the Smithsonian
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

