Aye, aye Kapten...

I recently caught another male Io Moth who, unlike the previous one, was totally without any shame - showing his eyes to all who cared to glance his way. Have a look, I thought I'd share him with you - he's alright isn't he...

Southern Delights...

A couple of times every summer I try to make it down to the property belonging to my good friends Mary and Peter. They live on a farm near the town of South Walsingham, not far from Long Point on Lake Erie. Is a fantastic area for moths, and wildlife in general come to that. Some great Carolinian forest nearby.

Anyway, this weekend I helped out with a moth night run by the Toronto Entemological Association. It was a nice still, warmish night with only a slither of the moon peeking through the inky blackness. Good conditions for moths. And so it was to be. It started slowly but after a while the moths started to stack up. When all was said and done we notched-up well over 250 species, a record for me. Could have been a lot more if I'd jarred a few more suspicious looking micros!

Below are a few of the highlights - I hope you like 'em...


This is a brilliant-looking micro called Adela ridingsella. I had never seen this one before so I well pleased! I like the complex pattern of gray, silver and black on the wings - just great, a little gem.


Also gem-like and also new for me was this neat little guy called Chrysoesthia lingulacella. It also has silvery bits on the wings which glint metallic in the sun.


One of our larger geometrids this is the lovely Common Lytrosis. Seemingly never numerous this moth is widely spread throughout Ontario. The lines and colours on this moth are something to behold.


An old friend - the whacky-looking Melsheimer's Sack-bearer! This tubby, ghostly-looking vision is rather uncommon so it was nice to record a couple on this visit.


Just as strange in its own was this Spotted Apatelodes. This smooth-looking dude is very acrobatic and sports some very dandy leg flanges! It appears strangely feline thinks MM...


One of the real treats down here at this time of the year is the chance to see the massive Giant Leopard Moth. This sizeable beast is very tastefully decked-out in black and white - but look closely and you can see the lovely metallic-blue lustre on the spots. The abdomen has rows of orange spots...but you only see that when you make him angry and he snarls at you!


I've always liked this one! The Straight-lined Looper Moth. Just a crazy-looking thing, "all pink and dishevelled" as the song goes. Actually, a special prize to any reader who can tell me exactly which song that line comes from...


Finally, the fresh-looking Green Marvel. This one would probably taste like an After Eight Mint if you were brave enough to give it a try...or maybe not! Never common, it is always a good one to add to the haul.

Now, lastly, in addition to the song lyric quizz noted above I am generously going to donate a special prize to the reader who comes up with the most stupid comment for one of my posts. This will be judged by me at a later stage...so get writing would ya...

I want your comments - this blog is nothing without 'em.

Bog Life...

Whilst up at the cottage this last weekend I cycled over to one of my very favorite areas - a small bog along the nearby railways tracks. Actually, it is not technically a bog - more a "poor fen" due to the impoverished flora. It looks like a bog though with a dense mat of Sphagnum moss, masses of Pitcher Plants, Rose Pagonia and Sundews. A lovely area. It used to be a lot nicer but it has a brand new highway running along side it now, so, not as peaceful as it once was. Still, the richness of the area has not diminished. Below are a few creatures to be found dodging the carnivorous plants!


I guess I hit it about right for this diminuative dragon this year - there were hundreds of them in a very small area, never seen them so numerous. It is, of course, the lovely Elfin Skimmer. This one is a tiger-striped female. They really are very small, though somewhat chunky. They like to keep very low and are rarely more than a few inches off the Sphagnum mat.


A male Elfin Skimmer. The males, when very young, are a dark slaty-gray. As they mature they become rather pruinose and have, as here, a whitish bloom on the thorax and upper abdomen. They sit with their wings held well forward.


There are a few day-flying moths in boggy areas. This one is a geometrid called Itame sulphurea. As the name suggests it can be yellow, but this is a drab brownish individual. I was a bit early for many of the species so you have to make do with this one for now.


Bogs are often good for a group of pyralid micros in the Crambus family. This one is Chrysoteuchia topiaria. They are often called "grass moths" and all are rather small, pencil-shaped creatures, often with very nice metallic patterns on their fore-wings.


Though not strictly a bog species I thought I'd lump this one in here because I was quite excited to see it! It is a male Cyrano Darner. I spotted it patrolling the lake off the dock at the cottage. I knew what it was but thought I'd have a go at catching it anyway! I waded in to almost chest level and, amazingly, caught it first swipe.

It is a large darner with a stout abdomen and those lovely blue eyes. The feature which it named after is the grossly protruding frons in front of the eyes. A really super dragonfly which is not at all common in Ontario, though it is perhaps overlooked since it seems to enjoy being over open water rather than land.


Another view of the Cyrano Darner as it recovered after being netted and fondled a bit! It did fly off eventually I can assure you...

Bring on the Sphingids...

I thought I'd blast you with a few sphingid pix from the last couple of weeks. These fantastic creatures are often large and flashy and thus are very appealing to those with even a very moderate interest in moths. Many species are quite common but it is only when you set out to catch them that you appreciate just how numerous they can be. Lights and light traps are a good way to lure them, but you can also visit flowers at dusk and wait for them to start feeding. Catching them with a net is the best way to identify them. But be warned, once caught they are hopping mad and it takes a long time for them to settle down, often damaging themselves within the jar in the process. Best to have a cooler handy to deposit the jarred moths into so they can "chill out" a bit whilst awaiting identification and photo session.

The photo above depicts a Walnut Sphinx which I caught up at Portage Lake last weekend. Lovely innit...


This a Big Poplar Sphinx. Quite common in well wooded areas. Very large and a bit unsettling when they bumble up to the sheet looking a bit like a floppy bat.


A Northern Apple Sphinx. One of the more drab gray species, of which there are a few. This one is common in wooded areas in cottage country for example. Note the black thorax and the white dot in the middle of the forewing.


A Northern Pine Sphinx. One of our smallest sphinx moths, it is wonderfully cryptic when settled on the bark of a tree trunk. Common wherever there are Pines.


A Snowberry Clearwing. There are a number of day-flying sphingids of which this is one of the more common. They are easy to see on hot sunny days whilst they whizz from one patch of flowers to another in search of nectar. The pale buff edges to the thorax is a good identification feature of this brilliant moth.


A Hog Sphinx. One of the most common species in southern Ontario. It is quite variable in appearance, this one being distinctly on the green side - others are brown or tan.


Azalea Sphinx. I don't catch too many of these so this nice crispy fresh individual was a real treat. Great pinkish colours on this medium-sized sphingid.


Finally, a Bedstraw Hawk Moth. Only my second so I was well pleased with this one. It is an introduced European species. When I was in UK last year I was praying for one of these since they are a rare migrant from southern Europe over there. I never did catch one!

Mothing in black-and-white...

We were all in Brooklin last weekend to do this and that. A group effort between family and friends netting this monochrome trio of dayflying moths...



This is the Eight-spotted Forester. A brilliant-looking noctuid if ever there was one. This species can be found nectaring on flowers during daylight hours. Note those crazy dayglow-orange leg-tufts on the upper photo...why?


This is the White-striped Black, a small geometrid which is frequently to be found whizzing low throught the vegetation on the edges of woods and in larger gardens.


Finally, like a small version of the Forester we have the pyralid called Anania funebris. Easy to find at this time of the year around vegetable plots and edge habitat.

Who says black-and white is not in fashion...

Purple and Proud...

Sorry about this late post - even MM gets busy sometimes. I was up at the cottage last weekend for one rain-soaked night. It was very warm and humid, and the rain started just as I fired up the lights...and ceased right at daybreak! However, in spite of this it was remarkably good for moths. It was incredibly uncomfortable. The mosquitos were as fierce as I've ever seen them - at all times! The rain soaked me to the skin. And, during my three hour photo shoot the next morning I had to dodge yet more rain and even greater numbers of the evil blood-suckers...

Was all worth it in the end as the photos below will attest. This is a tiny selection showing some of the highlights.


One moth I had not seen for years was this fine fellow - the Purple Plagodis. It must be very local. I was well pleased with it since it has a relatively short flight period in June and would be easy to miss, as indeed I have for about the last ten years!


One of the reasons for going up was to have a crack at catching a Luna Moth. It was not to be but I did snag this lovely male Io Moth instead. Only the second I've seen up here it was a welcome addition to the haul. Couldn't get the blighter to open his wings and flash his eyes though...


It's always a good night when ya catch this one - the incomparable Harris' Three Spot. All squiggly lines and brown spots this brilliant creature is another low density denizen of the woods - I've never caught more that one per year!


This small noctuid was a complete surprise. It took a little while to identify it, mostly because I wasn't expecting it. It is Elaphria georgei, I'll call it George's Midget for want of a better name. I was unaware it even occured in Ontario but I've since been informed that there may be some records from Algonquin, which is not too far away. Even more surprising was that I caught at least six of them!


One of the best late spring moths is undoubtedly Comstock's Sallow. This one is a bit worn, but when fresh they are indeed lovely and minty! Easy to miss this one if ya don't get out in late May or early June.


Another species I'd not seen for many years and new for the cottage list was this superb moth called The Rosewing. Yet another uncommon species. I like the plush claret-coloured velvet thorax.


Finally a rather ornately patterned noctuid called Aplectoides condita. I had only seen one very worn individual before this so I was well pleased to have a chance to photograph a freshly-plumaged individual.

Other than moths the bird highlight was a fantastic pair of Barred Owls which gave great looks from the car as we drove in - perched right over our heads they were...