“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” W. B. Yeats
“Human knowledge shall be erased from the archives of the world before we possess the last word that the gnat has to say to us.” Jean-Henri Fabre
Welcome. My name is Ron Parry. I am a retired biochemist with a passion for natural history. I was born and raised in the Southwestern US. After retirement I began to explore the rich moth fauna found in the Gila bioregion. The main purpose of this website is to help others who wish to do the same and to provide a record of moth diversity in the Gila in the early 21st century. A familiarity with our native fauna and flora not only enriches our lives, it also creates what Utah writer Ellen Meloy called a “deep map of place.” That deep map should motivate us to stop the destruction of wild Nature in North America, including “the little things that run the world” (E. O. Wilson). Recent studies indicate that arthropod populations in both temperate and tropical regions are undergoing serious decline, with dire consequences for the animals that feed upon them. A recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences focuses on this issue. A link to the Introductory article is at: https://www.pnas.org/content/118/2/e2023989118?fbclid=IwAR27dM20ZtXU_NBWlm51G4pKJmrBNkGoHqz6XX6CTpt4puW1Ov6IbhMMdz0. An excellent introduction to the issue of insect decline can be found in the book “Silent Earth” by Dave Goulson (2021). It seems clear that the time for action, including more in-depth studies of arthropods, is NOW!
Photos of additional moth species are added periodically. Clicking on the individual pictures provides more detailed information about each species. The species are displayed numerically by their Hodges number. Many of the specimens were collected at my home site at 5900 ft in the Big Burro mountains of the Gila National Forest. Unless otherwise noted, all specimens were collected using a Hg vapor lamp or a UV light. Information about the larval food plants (LFP) used by each species is provided when it is available. Addition of GPS coordinates for each specimen is in progress. A major portion of the specimens shown on this website are now housed in the Hasbrouck insect collection at Arizona State University. For a visual guide to the vascular plants of the Gila National Forest, I recommend the outstanding website located at: http://www.wnmu.edu/academic/nspages/gilaflora/ A word of caution: I am not a professional entomologist, so errors in identification are possible. This site was last updated on: 11/18/2024