Collaborative Research: Research Infrastructure: Moth Monitoring 2.0: Developing an integrated monitoring framework across life stages to understand insect declines

NSF Award Search · 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT · $230,000 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

An award is made to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Florida, and Smith College, to develop a large-scale network to study the abundance and seasonality of moths across Eastern USA. This project will combine counts of caterpillars (juvenile moths), generated by the citizen-science project Caterpillar Count!, with counts of adult moths that will be captured by automated, non-lethal traps. Moths and caterpillars are one of the most important insect groups because they eat plants such as crops and forest trees and also serve as food for wildlife. This work will generate resources necessary to share seasonal abundance data with other scientists and the general public. Completion of this project will contribute to an effective contemporary workforce by involving students and creating educational materials. This project will also contribute to elevating scientific literacy in the general public by recruiting citizen-scientists and by organizing moth observation events during National Moth Week. Moth Monitoring 2.0 will be the first large-scale monitoring network designed to integrate abundance and phenology data across both larval and adult life stages. This network will generate data through standardized sampling protocols that will be instrumental for understanding broad-scale abundance patterns of an ecologically important insect group across a large region. This project will result in the development of new hardware and software solutions f

Key facts

NSF award ID
2512788
Awardee
Smith College (MA)
SAM.gov UEI
KRDJLRA9X6F3
PI
Mariana Abarca
Primary program
01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
All programs
Estimated total
$230,000
Funds obligated
$230,000
Transaction type
Standard Grant
Period
09/15/2025 → 08/31/2028