Almost new...

The weekend before last we were all over in the lakeside town of Southampton. It was very much a case of sun, sand, beer and one very good moth! It was mostly family time so I was more than content to indulge in rounds of mini golf, hanging out on the beach, swimming and going out watching run-of-the-mill local bands. But of course the moth trap travels with us wherever we go!

On this occasion I caught two examples of the moth above. The first was a bit worn, whilst the second one, depicted above, was quite fresh. I knew straight away it was a species I'd not seen before so it was with some anticipation that I leafed through what little reference material I had at hand. Not in there! Oh well, I would have to check the MPG website upon return home. It was easy to find and turned out to be the noctuid Striacosta albicosta, or the Western Bean Cutworm Moth. Great, I had some hope that it may be a new provincial record so I sent the photos off to the experts. Well, I was ever so close and would have had a new moth for Canada had someone else not beaten me to it last year on Manitoulin Island. Oh the ups and downs of the modern moth world - one minute yer up, the next yer down! Having said that I was still very pleased...