This website is crowdfunded. That means that  this website can stay online and will grow bigger because of the generous donations of my readers. There are many ways one can contribute to my website!

But why would you do that in the first place?  – It’s true. Donating is quite a selfless act. But even if I say so myself – so is, in my opinion, the creation of this website, my dear reader!

You see, we live in a world where the diversity and abundance of insects is rapidly declining. And this is a major problem. Insects are the most important animals in any terrestrial ecosystem – acting as vital sources of food for many insectivores from songbirds, to bats, to rodents, to amphibians and reptiles. Insects pollinate the majority of flowering plants, that strictly rely on them. Insects propagate and manage the flora and fauna around them! They are one of the most essential links in the food chain. A world with less insects is a world with less biodiversity. And a world with less biodiversity is a world in which our species (humans) struggles to survive – even though we are rarely willing to accept this fact – our species, too, relies on the environment to survive.

We could name many superficial threats that endanger insects. Overuse of pesticide, deforestation, urban development, droughts, climate change, light pollution, mono cultures, eutrophication, agriculture.. but all these threats can be summarized into one: ignorance.

Ignorance is an existential threat to insects. And when we fail to realize how important they are to the environment, we will inevitably fail to thrive as a species.

I believe in free and accessible information about insects. I believe that getting people interested in their ecology, life cycles, and even keeping them as pets, helps to correct our malicious attitude – and helps people become invested in their conservation. And ultimately, invested in the truth – the truth that we depend on insects more than insects depend on us!

On this website, you can see pictures of some of the worlds most beautiful moths (and butterflies, although my specialism is in moths).

All these pictures, I, the author of this website (Bart Coppens), have made myself. All the articles on this website, I,the author (Bart Coppens) have written myself.

This is a very laborious task. You can imagine, writing hundreds of pages, breeding hundreds of moth species, and uploading hundreds of pictures costs a lot of time and resources! I am constantly revising old articles, writing new ones, and making changes.

I did not create this website to make money, or profit. But the sheer, harsh truth of reality is that money rules the universe. And creating and maintaining a huge website like this one is truthfully very difficult at times. And expensive.

Expensive? Consider the fact this website has a huge amount of pictures (thousands of pictures!). Due to the many GB’s of storage, I need a business subscription to WordPress, to pay for the digital storage of these pictures. On top of that, my work requires the equipment necessary to study, rear and photograph moths. Just to keep this website online, I pay hundreds of dollars in subscription fees.

I am not entitled to your money! And not donating does not make you any less of a fan, follower or reader. Asking for contributions feels a little embarassing, even.

But if you are willing and able to afford it, contributions are much appreciated. They do make my life much easier. They compensate for the many hours, and many dollars I spent on creating this website! It will help me upgrade my equipment, the server space, and even fund my research in insect conservation – and moth rearing projects. Not only that, it will ensure the continued survival of this website.

How to help?

Number one: PayPal. One way to do it is via PayPal. To send a single payment, click the donate button below and write the amount you wish to send me – any amount helps. If the button does not work, Click Here. 

We also offer you a donation form widget (Via WordPress): [Credit card]

Method two: Patreon. Another way to support me, is via Patreon. Patreon is a crowdfunding platform, where people can show support by pledging a certain amount – this can be anything from 1$ and higher. This amount of money is then transferred to me monthly, like a subscription. Patreon users, in return for this subscription, get gifts such as mugs, stickers, posters, exclusive videos, guides, can vote in polls that decide what videos I will make, and more. To visit, click the image button below or if that doesn’t work, Click Here. 

• Patreon

Method three: RedBubble. For those who prefer to purchase physical items, consider checking out my Redbubble account (Click here!). But wait, what’s Redbubble?

Redbubble is an online store that sells physical products such as laptop cases, phone cases, t-shirts, wallets, postcards, posters, mousemats and much more. And I designed products there, using my own pictures of moths!

If you purchase an item from RedBubble, I recieve about 20% of the sale. If somebody purchases a t-shirt that costs 10$, I would recieve about 2$ to 3$ from the sale.

Other ways to help! Helping shouldn’t have to cost money.

You can also…

1. Notify me of spelling mistakes (email: bart.coppens@hotmail.com ). My native language is not English; I’m very much a Dutch [Netherlands!] person. While I’m happy with my level of fluency in English, it does mean I tend to spell some words the wrong way. And if nobody corrects me, I can never improve my English. Do email me if you spot silly mistakes! Because my native language is Dutch, sometimes I still make embarrassing spelling mistakes when I write in English.
2. Read this website and share it! The more readers this website has, the more powerful it becomes :^) sharing is caring! Share articles or pages you like on social media, or with friends.
3. Submit caresheets! This website also contains user submitted articles. If you reared a moth, then notify me and check out the archives (click here!)
4. Email me scientific publications of moths! Knowledge is always appreciated. Especially considering I am often behind the paywall. But people emailing me the newest publications and revisions also helps me keep up with science, so I can revise the articles about the species on this website in accordance with the newest information,

The funds I raise on this website will be spent on:

1. Subscription fees! Every year, I pay hundreds of dollars in fees to WordPress, Dropbox, and Flickr – to host the enormous amounts of pictures and information this website contains.
2. Upgrading equipment! Thankfully, photo camera’s can last for years if you are careful with them. But they do have to be replaced every few years due to intensive usage. I also use a lot of equipment to breed moths.
3. Research and education! I am also an amateur entomologist, and the funds I raise online help my insect conservation work.
4. My free time! Free time is an abstract thing. But this website absorbs ridiculous amounts of time. Don’t believe me? Try writing over 200 pages about moths then (and counting!). The more crowdfunding I recieve, the more pages I can write per year(!) and the faster I can update the website since I can spend more time on it.
5. Books and sources. Ah yes, the glorious paywalls of science. To write scientifically informed articles I need to obtain sources such as articles, and books about the insects I plan to write about.

Good reasons to donate are:

1. You believe in the importance of insects; and you are willing to support a mostly self funded amateur entomologist that’s on a mission to make information about moths free, and easy to access – on top of gathering new information that could end up helping their conservation.
2. You enjoy the website; much like paying for a book or a movie, paying for the things that entertain you will help to sustain them – and the work of the author.
3. You are a hobbyist moth breeder; if you enjoy rearing moths as pets, surely you will benefit from more guides and tutorials that show you how to raise certain species in more detailed ways!
4. You like the products, or rewards I offer; donating does come with benefits. Patrons on Patreon receive handwritten postcards, mugs stickers and more! The RedBubble shop offers physical items you may enjoy owning.
5. You want to be a part of entomology; many people want to help the environment, and want to help butterflies and moths. But not everyone has the time and resources to do that! But humans achieve great things when they concentrate their efforts. Helping me means being part of all the things I do.
6. You can afford it; I only ask of contributions of readers who are willing and able to contribute. This is important. Help yourself before you help others! I would never ask, and I would never expect, any reader that is not in the financial position to contribute, or does not have the motivation to do so, to donate to me. Every reader is very much appreciated and in no way do I want to sound entitled! This message is only for persons who have the spare resources to do so.

Thank you so much for your consideration! Your generous support has been more than a huge relief.

Dear reader – thank you very much for visiting! Your readership is much appreciated.  Are you perhaps…. (see below)

• Not done browsing yet? Then click here to return to the homepage (HOMEPAGE)
• Looking for a specific species? Then click here to see the full species list (FULL SPECIES LIST) 
• Looking for general (breeding)guides and information? Then click here to see the general information (GENERAL INFORMATION)
• Interested in a certain family? Then click here to see all featured Lepidoptera families (FAMILIES)

Citations: Coppens, B. (2019); Written by Bart Coppens; based on a real life breeding experience [for citations in literature and publications] 

Was this information helpful to you? Then please consider contributing here (more information) to keep this information free and support the future of this website. This website is completely free to use, and crowdfunded. Contributions can be made via paypal, patreon, and several other ways.

All the funds I raise online will be invested in the website; in the form of new caresheets, but also rewriting and updating the old caresheets (some are scheduled to be rewritten), my educational websites, Youtube, breeding projects, the study of moths andconservation programs.

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