The Abbot on the hill...

No, not the pub on Yonge Street frequented by some of us! This one was in my moth trap this morning - Sphecodina abbottii, or Abbot's Sphinx. Another brilliant addition to my back yard list. This smallish but chunky sphingid is on the wing from May to early June here in Southern Ontario - blink and you'll miss it. The larvae feed on Ampelopsis and grapes. Amazing what can be found in the big city...


A dorsal view of the Abbot in all his glory. It has to be the most unusual-looking sphingid that occurs in Ontario with its corpulent aspect, ragged-looking forewings and all-round lumpy appearance.


The Abbot has a very distinctive resting posture with the tufted-tipped abdomen raised high and the wings drooped to each side. This odd shape blends in very well with flaking bark. I put the moth to rest on a Cedar this morning and one could barely make it out even when you knew exactly where it was!


The Abbot is beautifully marked in a cryptic sort of way with crisp black swirling lines on a backdrop of slate and mauve. The hindwing displays a vivid yellow flash when the Abbot gets upset with you...

Recent blog moths...

The old moth trap has been a bit quiet of late, mostly due to cool nights and rain showers. However, I plod on and here are a few common moths recently caught and photographed.


An Ipsilon Dart, aka Dark Swordgrass in UK. I catch this moth frequently in my back yard, though usually later in the season. It is common worldwide and the larvae feed on a wide variety of plants, including many crop species on which thay can be a pest.


A Common Looper Moth. Generally the most common Looper that I catch in Toronto. Again, the larvae are generalists and feed on a wide variety of plants including some crop species. The adults fly throughout the season in three or more broods.


Plutella xylostella aka the Diamondback Moth. This small micro is in the family plutellidae and was introduced from Europe sometime before 1850. It is now very common in Ontario and is on the wing throughout the summer and fall in several broods.

Very small...but brilliant...if you like that sort of thing...

Hey, I don't wanna be small and boring. I just want this blog to be action-packed and vibrant. So, with this firmly in mind check out my latest 5mm offering!



Meet Telphusa longifasciella, a micro with a name longer than its own wing length! Just take in the wonderful black-and-white scaling on those magnificent wings. What a beauty. New for my yard list and new for me - who could ask for more... Answers on a postcard please boys and girls.

There were a few birds in the back yard this morning but nothing dramatic. A couple of Baltimore Orioles were new for the year for me. I'll be doing my birdathon on Toronto Islands this weekend if any of you would like to sponsor me? All $$$ goes to Bird Studies Canada - a worthy cause if ever there was one.

Small and somewhat boring...

Sometimes I wonder why I bother. One moth in the trap...and a micro at that! Still, gotta keep the blog rolling along.


The micro Proteoteras moffateana. A small lumpy greenish thing which is common throughout the season in several generations. It is a member of the vast tortricidae clan. Lets hope for something better tomorrow...

Red letter day...

So, even when it looks far from perfect it is always worth firing-up the moth trap. Only one moth...but a great one - a fine Lettered Sphinx! First one I've seen for a few years. Along with Abbot's Sphinx it is generally the first Sphingid to be on the wing in the springtime. Sphinx moths are not exactly thick in the air in my back yard so it was particularly pleasing to catch a species that I needed better photos of.


A nice view of Deidamia inscripta, or Lettered Sphinx. It is a very small Sphingid, barely larger than, say, an Armyworm Moth, though chunkier. It has a typical Sphingid shape though and has an obviously scalloped outer margin to the forewing. This moth is beautifully marked and is very cryptic when posed on bark.


Another view showing how the tip of the abdomen is slightly raised when at rest - indeed it is sometimes raised even higher. The larvae feed on Ampelopsis, grapes and Virginia Creeper and the adults are on the wing from late April to early June. A fine addition to the old yard list. What will be next?

Lepping in the deep south...

Yesterday we all travelled down to South Walsingham and the home of Mary Gartshore and Peter Carson with the aim of buying a few plants and (me) looking for some early flying moths. Was a glorious day though was a little on the cloudy and windy side at times. Whilst KT, Sally and Elden checked out the greenhouses James and I took the net for a walk. Was generally a bit quiet at first but, amazingly, the very first butterfly we saw was a pristine Gray Hairstreak - the earliest I've ever seen! Presumably it hatched locally?

However, what I really wanted to see was a smart dayflying moth called the Grapevine Epimenis. I'd only seen it once before and needed to photograph it. Anyway, whilst photographing the Hairstreak I noticed one fly by...but too fast for me and I couldn't net it in spite of a long chase. Oh well. But, as luck would have it, I spotted another one a couple of hours later fluttering up against one of the greenhouses being buffeted by the wind. Aha, no escape this time and the moth was safely trousered, lightly chilled and then photographed. Unfortunately the results were not great since I'd neglected to bring along the plate so I could attach the camera to the tripod. Hand-help shots at one eighth of a second are not recommended!

Whatever, I hope you like the pix. The prairie was full of bird sound with lots of Chipping, Vesper and Field Sparrows singing. The woods held Rose-breasted Grosbeak, White-crowned Sparrows and Eastern Towhees.


A wonderfully fresh Gray Hairstreak at Wilson Tract. Unusual amongst Hairstreaks this species habitually sits with it's wings open rather than tightly shut over it's back. It is very dark-looking with those obvious red spots on the hindwings.


The sharply-marked underside of the Gray Hairstreak.


The lovely Grapevine Epimenis, netted, photographed and released at Mary and Peter's home near South Walsingham. This very distinctive dayflying noctuid is rather local in southern Ontario and has a very short flight period in late April and early May and is easy to miss if a special effort is not made. The larvae feed on grapes. Note the large orange-red patch on the hindwings. In flight the moth is often mistaken for a butterfly due to it's colourful appearance.


The forewing of Psychomorpha epimenis displays a rich bluish metallic lustre which clashes rather nicely with the snowy white patch near the trailing edge. A very special moth indeed...