Rondeau Round-up...

Last weekend I travelled with friends to Rondeau Provincial Park on the north shore of Lake Erie. We had a moth night to perform on behalf of the Toronto Entomological Association. The staff at the park were remarkably enthusiastic and supportive which made the whole event a real pleasure - I wanna go back! We arrived late on Friday evening and immediately set up lights and a trap around the maintenance yard where we were staying in a trailer. We thought it a good idea to have a few moths in hand before the actual moth event the following night - a good move as it turned out.

The night was warm and humid after some earlier rain showers and in spite of a near full moon conditions looked good for some productive mothing. Amazingly we recorded only one Catocala on the many trees gooped - a Little Underwing. The lights attracted a huge number of water beetles and a couple of very impressive Longhorn Beetles. Moths were steady but numbers were not great. Many more micros that macros which seems to be the way this year.

The diminuative Pawpaw Sphinx above was perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the night - it was waiting patiently for me on the top egg carton in the trap...

Anyway, below are a few highlights from the first night:


This streamlined little devil is the Thin-winged Owlet, a splendid deltoid noctuid I'd not seen before. It has a southern distribution in Ontario. I was very impressed with the black leading edge to the forewings.


The amazing Moonseed Moth! I'd only seen this fantastic moth once before - it's totally impressive. Again, another southern species for us up here in Ontario. The larva feed on Moonseed vine.


On such events there are always surprises, and this was certainly one of the biggest. This small noctuid is the Obtuse Yellow. It has been recorded in the province on very few occasions (maybe only at Point Pelee) so I was delighted to catch one here.


Definitely my favorite moth of the night! This is the Black Bit Moth. When it fluttered up to the sheet it was a mad rush to "jar" it before it slipped away into the night. Is a wonderfully complex moth, tons of character! The larva feed on Black Locust.


Finally, a moth I'd seem a few times before but one that always brings a tiny smile to my face - the lovely Pink Streak. I'd only seen this local species at South Walsingham before this - where it appears to be not uncommon if sought at the correct time in mid to late July. We saw four of these beauties, but this was the nicest of the bunch.

The moth event went well. Most of the folks who showed up were families camping in the park. The kids loved seeing all the weird and wonderful shapes of the moths we showed them - great education for them. I hope we can return in the not too distant future to enlighten a few more budding naturalists.

Maybe next time I'll show you some of the many micros that were present. Now there's something to really look forward to...