Comet moth in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar
© Robin Hoskyns/Minden Pictures
Comet moth in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar
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.
Mangrove trees, Walakiri Beach, Sumba Island, Indonesia
'Field of Light' by artist Bruce Munro at Uluru, Australia
Boats float by rice fields on the Ngo Dong River in Ninh Bình province, Vietnam
Moose crossing a pond below Mount Moran, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Spiral aloe
The Appalachian Trail in Stokes State Forest, New Jersey
Manicouagan Crater in Québec, Canada
Rothschild's giraffe in Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya
