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National Museum of Natural History

Pink flowers bloom in front of a brick castle building across a field of green grass.

Enjoy Cherry Blossoms and More Natural History Programs this March

Enjoy environmental film screenings, gain an appreciation for spiders and more this month at the National Museum of Natural History

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A Bounty of Butterflies Arrives at the Smithsonian

Entomologist Floyd Shockley drove across the country to pick up a premier butterfly and moth collection

The world’s smallest moth, the pygmy sorrel moth, has a wingspan as short as 2.65 millimeters. It belongs to a group called the leaf miner moths, which could become problematic pests for more farmers as global temperatures rise. (Patrick Clement, CC BY 2.0)

Who's the Smallest of Them All? Mini Moth Gets a Big Title

A group of curious researchers has finally awarded one species the coveted title of world's smallest moth

There are about 160,000 species of moths and butterflies worldwide, each with unique characteristics. (Smithsonian)

Seven Bizarre Moths to Celebrate National Moth Week

These are the coolest and most unusual moths in the Smithsonian’s collections.

The National Museum of Natural History’s Lepidoptera collection holds up to half of the world's species of hawk moths, important pollinators for many wild ecosystems. There are over 1450 species of hawk moths in total on Earth. (Smithsonian)

Why Hawk Moths are the Underdogs of the Pollinator World

Hawk moths are the underdog pollinators that sustain countless populations of plants around the world.

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