Immigrants or what...

Whilst I was down at Wilson Tract last week I caught a number of moths that I thought unusual for so early in the season. I pondered whether at least some of them may have been immigrants from further south that had wafted north with the nice weather at the time. A prime example is the noctuid moth above - Agrotis ipsilon, the Ipsilon Dart. A common moth throughout southern Ontario, I don't normally catch them until late May or early June. Many of the moths that we consider to be immigrants up here are of course very common not too far to the south in the States. The flight periods of these moths vary but tend to be earlier further south due to the earlier spring and milder overnight temperatures. For my UK readers, and I know you're out there (!) this is the moth known as Dark Swordgrass, a regular and sometimes common immigrant species from the near continent.


Another moth that I don't normally catch until much later in the spring is this one - Plathypena scabra, the Green Cloverworm Moth. I thought this one looked quite striking and unusual for the species; they are normally darker and not so well marked. Indeed, I did catch one individual that was nearer the norm but was very heavily worn. This species is usually much more common in the fall, when they can sometimes be kicked out of the grass by the bucket-load...


This nice-looking geometer is Orthonama obstipata, The Gem. This species is sexually dimorphic, this one being a male. It is well-known as an immigrant and resident species, with the immigrants showing up early in the season. I took the capture of three of this species to be some indication that I may be correct about the other moths being immigrants too.


Last, but by no means least, the distinctive micro Plutella xylostella, the Diamondback Moth. I was even catching these in Toronto at around the same time.

All this because I didn't catch anything last night - way too cool. Unfortunately the next few nights will be rubbish too, so you may have to put up with more second-hand ramblings from the MM...