DENVER — If you're ready for the miller moths to leave the Front Range, we probably don't have long to go.
The pesky - yet environmentally friendly - creatures are in the middle of their migration path from the Central Plains to the mountains, but a local lepidopterist (moth and butterfly expert) said they should be gone in the next few days.
"The peak of the moths in one particular place will last 2-3 weeks. We are, of course, right now experiencing the peak," said Shiran Hershcovich, a lepidopterist with the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster. "But by the end of the month, we can expect most of the moths to have moved to different spaces."
Of course, the end of the month is only a few days away, so the miller moths should continue their migration path into the mountains in the next few days.
They might be, however, spending a bit more time than usual in the Denver area due to the Canadian wildfire smoke that's enveloped the region in recent days.
"Wildfire smoke particles, when they’re dense enough, they can essentially weigh those butterflies down and make their migratory path more difficult," Hershcovich said.
But over the next few days, the miller moths will continue their annual trek up into the mountains, where they'll pollinate flowers and serve as a tasty snack for bears and rodents.
"We’ll have them through for a little bit, visiting our Front Range as tourists, visiting our blooms and helping our flowers," Hershcovich said. "Then, they will move onto the next place, making their way up to the mountains."
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