DENVER (KDVR) — It's the season for the notorious miller moths to pop up around Colorado, in homes, cars and even your pantry, but this year, it's seemingly not as much.

The Butterfly Pavilion said miller moths usually appear around April or May and migrate into Colorado across the Front Range in early June before flying up to the mountains.

However, this year, there haven't been as many — and there's a reason for that.

Where are the miller moths?

According to Francisco Garcia Bulle Bueno, the director of Science and Conservation at the Butterfly Pavilion, Colorado has seen far fewer miller moths than usual, which is due to a combination of factors like low survival rates during the larval cutworm stage or more pesticides.

But this year, a big factor was the weather.

Days of rain filled the forecast in Denver, which was more than usual for a city known for its 300 days of sunshine. Along with the rainy weather, it also caused fewer moths in the area.

Bueno said cooler, wetter spring conditions dispersed the moths in rural areas rather than concentrated in urban ones because the rain brought an abundance of natural nectar sources.

One possibility could be that the rain dispersed the moths to different areas; however, Bueno said it's difficult to track as the insects are small and mobile, and many factors in the environment can affect the population.

While moths can pop up in your home, the pavilion said they play a vital role in the ecosystems, and they are nocturnal pollinators and are a food source for animals. Yearly changes can also hold a deeper significance, as dramatic decreases could indicate disruptions in climate patterns, changes in land use, or effects from pesticides and habitat loss.