Since this page was the last updated a great deal has been done to upgrade the web site. Thanks to the efforts of Mike Boone most of what you currently see at MPG is delivered to you from a modern database through Mike's automated .php programs. We are still working on new features, especially with respect to species pages, and will soon begin revamping the system of pages for unidentified moths. One of the new features will be found on the Contacts Directory Page where you can now click on a "Photos" link beside your name to see all of your photos here at MPG. The new system will also permit you to volunteer to perform some of the necessary tasks (more on this below).

Publishing Event of the Decade:  At long last there is now a fine book covering the Moths of Western North America. Jerry Powell and Paul Opler have done a magnificent job in treating well over 2,300 species of which half are micromoths. This book will be indispensable to collectors and photographers west of the Rockie Mountains and throughout the desert southwest. Click on the link to see a review and puchasing information.

New Photographs Received.  During the past year many thousands of new photos have been posted throughout the MPG collections. A major Canadian collection that includes spread specimens, living moths and many larvae was Contributed by Jason Dombroskie. Jeff Smith has contributed hundreds of specimen photographs that he took at the Bohart Museum at Univ. Calif. Davis. I have been fortunate to be able to spend time in the collections at Mississippi Entomological Museum and also at the U.S. National Museum. Also from Canada we have received many photos by Gary Anweiler and Charles Bird from the collection at the E. H. Strickland Museum in Edmonton, Alberta, and also through the efforts of Don Lafontaine and Jocelyn Gill at the Canadian National Collection at Ottawa.

Photos of Living Moths and Larvae.  continue to pour in from all over the continent. These are photos taken by individuals such as yourself. There are now well over 400 of you, with those making first-time contributions during the past year listed below. We currently have a bit more than 3700 species in the living moths section, including forms recognized only at the genus level or above. We are finally beginning to receive significant numbers of photographs from the western part of the continent, as well as photographs that are supported by DNA analyses (more about this in a future posting).

Job Openings for Volunteers. Prior to operating from a database virtually all of the work required to make MPG function had to be done from a central computer. But it is now possible to assign several functions to volunteer Associate Editors, no matter where they happen to be. Here are some of the job descriptions open to volunteers:

Species Page Editors: Using a simple text data entry screen, supply information regarding distribution, flight period, host plants, etc., for a group of species. Information can be extracted from online sources, monographs and other publications. Published material will be supplied on loan for this purpose.

Large Photo Editors: Join Nolie Schneider in searching out suitable larger photos to grace the top of MPG species pages. Photographs may be found at BugGuide and other web sites. Get permissions where necessary. Trim and sharpen photos, upload to MPG. Edit species pages, using a simple data entry screen, to make the photos appear on them.

New Photo Editors: Monitor new postings at BugGuide, as well as the archives there and at other web sites, to find photos needed for MPG living moth plates and species pages. Get permissions as necessary, resize and sharpen photos, periodically upload batches of photos for further processing at MPG. Report names of new contributors to be added to the MPG Contacts Directory.

Larvae Editors: Specialize in building out the larvae side of MPG. There are thousands of excellent photographs already on the Internet (many at BugGuide) that need the attention of someone with a little time to contribute. In addition to the kinds of tasks mention above for new photos, an Associate Editor for Larvae could also maintain the separate database (an Excel table) at MPG that houses larvae data.

If you think that you might like to volunteer for any of these Associate Editor positions, please contact Bob Patterson at BPatter789@aol.com.

Welcome New Contributors: Chris Adam (NB), Sonia Anderson (WI), Mark Applebaum (OH), Jerry Armstrong (GA), Parker Backstrom (NC), James Bailey (AB), Bob Barber (NM), Fran Bartle (TX), Dave Beaudette (AZ), Craig Beigler (OH), Charles Bird (AB), Jim Bliss (NY), Brett Bobeux (AB), Edna Bottorff (OR), Julieta Brambila (FL), Carol Breton (AZ), David Bridges (FL), Paul Brophy (NM), John Brown (DC), Peter Bryant (CA), Jennifer Bundy (AZ), Lyle Buss (FL), Victor Call (FL), John Carr (MA), Paul Celano (MI), Sheila Chambers (OR), Carmen Champagne (GA), Nancy Collins (WI), David Copeland (AL), Scott Cox (CA), Julie Craves (MI), Becka Crook (FL), Mike Cruz (FL), Barrie Daniels (AB), Tony DeSantis (NC), Jason Dombroskie (AB), Sheran Donnell (OK), Judy Duke (AR), Steve Dunbar (IN), Eric Eaton (MA), Jason Eckberg (NV), Ed Eder (VA), Charlie Eiseman (MA), E. Fiesler (CA), Ty Fitzmorris (AZ), Dave Funk (PA), Jordin Garmon (GA), Heidi Genter (CO), Pat Gentili-Poole (DC), Ben Gillock (NM), Stephen Gingold (MA), Eric Gofreed (MD), Jaime Goswick (AR), Jay Greenberg (NY), Kevin Harkins (PA), Elliotte Harold (CA), M. J. Hatfield (IA), Richard Healy (KY), Maury Heiman (TX), Nancy Hildebrandt (NH), JoVonn Hill (MS), Karl Hillig (NY), Audrey Hoff (TN), Jim Hoover (PA), Mary Hopson (AK), Rich Hoyer (AZ), Doug Hughes (GA), Bill Hull (OH), Phil Huntley-Franck (OR), Craig Hurst (ON), Dan Janzen (PA), Tim Johnson (OR), Teta Kain (VA), Ken Kertell (AZ), WonGun Kim (VA), Harry King (MI), Rob Klotz (AZ), Don Lafontaine (ON), Tim Lethbridge (FL), Tricia Little (NC), David Livingstone (NWT), Steve Loftin (TN), Lisa Lumley (AB), Arthur Macmillan (CA), Gaell Mainguy (WA), Stan Malcolm (CT), Chris Mallory (CA), Bob Mason (CA), John Maxwell (NJ), Gary McDonald (CA), Natalie McNear (CA), Charles Melton (AZ), Joel Merrill (IA), Jeffrey Miller (OR), Lynn Monroe (CO), Kelly Mortensen (TX), Eric Moyer (PA), Nazrick Nazari (ON), Don Newton (GA), Luurt Nieuwenhuis (WA), Marcie O'Connor (WI), Tracy Palmer (TX), Harsi Parker (CA), Jennifer Parks (AZ), Mary Patterson (CA), Seth Patterson (TX), John Pearson (IA), Arlo Pelegrin (CO), Shelley Penner (BC), Gary Phillips (SC), Michel Pilon (QB), Norma Platt (NY), Greg Pohl (AB), Robert Poole (MD), Joan Powell (CA), Donald Putnam (GA), Martha Reinhardt (NH), David Roberts (MD), Marcin Roguski (Poland), Davie Rolnick (VT), Lee Roth (TX), Paul Scharf (NC), Aubrey Scott (GA), Chris Schierer (NY), Harvey Schmidt (SK), John Schneider (TX), Aaron Schusteff (CA), Thomas Simonsen (AB), Ray Simpson (SC), Crystal Slaght (BC), Dave Small (MA), Jeff Smith (CA), Marvin & Jo Smith (AR), Nate Spackman (UT), Rachel Spradley (CA), D.J. Stanley (TN), Martin Stein (VT), Don Sterba (CA), Stan Sterba (TX), Dixie Sutton (TN), Aaron Torok (PA), Dennis Totin (TX), Martin Turgeon (NB), Will Underwood (MS), Linda Vassallo (CA), Cynthia & Matthew Van Den Broeke (OK), Henning von Schmeling (GA), Richard Wasson (CA), Nina Wilde (NJ), Andrew Williams (KS), Cathy Wilson (OH), Richard Wolfert (NJ), Henry Yuen (OR), Bo Zaremba (MA), Robert Zimlich (AL).

Got the Mothing Bug?  Add your photographs to the collaborative effort here at Moth Photographers Group and help build the photobase that helps everyone interested in moth identification. Please consider posting your moth photos at BugGuide where several people help to identify them. With your permission it is an easy matter to select photos there that are needed for MPG plates and species pages.

Are You a Moth Specialist? Add an entry in your CV by refereeing a family or subfamily here, and help build the accuracy of the photo library.