The Borers of Wilson...

Whilst down at Wilson Tract on Thursday we had the great pleasure of catching a nice selection of borer moths in the genus Papaipema. These fantastic moths mostly fly from late August to mid October, with early September being the peak for many species. The larvae bore into the stems, roots and rhizomes of a variety of herbaceous plants. Some are restricted to just one plant whereas other species are generalists.

They really are prized moths and are a treat to catch and look at. However, some species can be frustratingly difficult to identify. I'm pretty sure most of these are correct but...

Having said that, the above species is pretty easy, is Papaipema baptisiae. It is quite large and smooth-looking and has a nice string of large silvery orbicular spots and wide, broken mosaic edge to the reniform. I've just lent out some of my books so cannot give you the host plants for some of these moths!


This one is Papaipema birdi. It is smaller and paler than baptisiae and shows paler, cream-colored scales at the base of the forewing. Also, the reniform spot is distinctly larger - usually just touching the pm line.


This one is Papaipema leucostigma, the Columbine Borer Moth. It is pale orange and usually has reduced orbicular spots and just a trace of white fringing the reniform spot.


Next we have Papaipema pterisii, the Bracken Borer Moth. Similar to lecostigma but note the orbicular spots are fused, or almost so. The larvae are heavily into munching on bracken...


This one was from a previous visit and was remarkably early - had never seen a borer in July before! It is Papaipena nebris, the Stalk Borer Moth. This is one of the darker species and usually, well, the ones I've seen anyway, has dark and inconspicuous orbicular and reniform spots. The white antenna and white speckling along the costa near the forewing apex are apparently distinctive. The larvae are generalists on many plants.


We caught three of these and are having trouble identifying them. Rather small and distinctively marked we figured they would be easy - ha! It is possibly Papaipema rutila - but will have to do a bit of research...


Another dark species, we think this is Papaipema nelita. The warm brown saddle and reasonably large spots seem to indicate this species. Could be that the jagged-edged pm line is distinctive?


And finally an easy one - about time! This is Papaipema inquaesita, the Sensitive Fern Borer Moth. Is pretty common and widespread, I've even caught it once in my back yard! Sandpapery orange with darker veins and sharply angled lines and no obvious spots - easy. The larval foodplant is rather predictably sensitive fern.

I do have photos of a few other species, but I think eight is enough for one post... Nice though eh?

September Warmth...

It was with some sense of anticipation and not a little excitement that MK and I motored down into the steamy depths of southern Ontario. Lured yet again by the promise of the unknown. The forecast proclaimed a low of 19 degrees, but it felt warmer - perfect! Maybe some immigrant moths were on the cards...

We walked the lines of flowers on our gracious hosts' property but came away empty handed. The flowers usually offer a few clues as to what may happen overnight - as far as immigrant species go anyhow, but there were none to be had. Oh well, it would have to be September residents then.

After setting up four traps, a couple of sheets and getting through a jar of goop on the local trees we headed towards the lakeshore along Hastings Drive, which is just the other side of the causeway before one gets to Long Point. Goop was plastered and a sheet was set up illuminated with the eerie glow of two blacklights. The locals had obviously not seen anything quite like it - but will again I can assure you!! With open water on one side and extensive marsh on the other it seemed like an interesting coastal location. It was slow at first but before long a few moths arrived, mostly on the goop. By far the nicest moth , and one I predicted I may add, was the lovely looper above. Is Plusia venusta, the White-streaked Looper Moth. I'd only seen it once before so was well chuffed! It's a subtle beauty that looks like it has been fashioned out of the sort of metallic foils one might wrap a birthday present in. Pretty much restricted to wetlands the larva feed on sedges and grasses whilst the adults fly from June to September. It appears to be somewhat local in Ontario.


A bigger surprise was the appearance of three Trachea delicata. Again, I'd seen this species just once, on Pelee Island some years ago. It was nice to have the opportunity to take a good series of photos. Is a terrific moth what with the mossy green highlights and all. I'd long thought this species should be here but thought the timing was too late - well, there's lots to learn I guess. All were fresh. We later found one in one of the traps at Mary's place. At the time of writing I'm not sure of the larval hosts, but will find out and update.


A snouty devil that should, and indeed was, around the marsh was the chunky Archanara oblonga, the Oblong Sedge Borer Moth. A bit of a September speciality (though sometimes earlier), this moth always seems a bit scarce, though I have recorded it at a few sites over the years. The larvae feed on cattails and bulrushes.


Another moth that was predicted to be on the lakeshore was Abagrotis orbis, above. There were a few of them, mostly on the goop. There are only a handful of sites in Ontario for this dune specialist so it was pleasing to add it to the Long Point list, not that there is an official list...

Portage Moths...

I've been up at the family cottage for the past couple of weeks. Is at Portage lake which is about 20 Km south of Parry Sound. Is a lovely place with nice woodland and some interesting lake shore edge habitat. It is not marshy though and the lake bed is rather clean sand. I do occasionally catch some acid bog specialists from nearby fens but mostly I catch a nice selection of woodland species.

The last two weeks of August is kind of an odd time for moths here. Too late for many of the single brooded summer species and a little too early for most of the interesting fall species like pinions and sallows. However, there are some nice species that are characteristic of this period. The lovely moth above is very much an August speciality.It is Eosphoropteryx thyatyroides, more easily known as the Pink-patched Looper Moth. I caught two, doubling my life total! The first was total trash and horribly worn - a real disappointment. However, the second, above, was quite fresh and much more pleasing. It is a shiny, metallic fellow and was very difficult to photograph so the colors stood out. Deep shade was no good. Bright sunlight worse still. I had to position the moth so it was kinda half and half and use my shutter hand to reflect some of the light onto it. It sort of worked but I was left scratching my head and feeling that there must be a better way. Gorgeous moth though. Meadow Rue is the larval foodplant.


One of my few lifers was this nice looper moth called Syngrapha altera. I was well pleased since, as you all know by now, I rate the loopers highly. This one is a bit of an identification challenge since it is quite similar to S. octoscripta. It is a bit smaller and has a somewhat different silver stigma on the forewing. It fits all the photos of the S. altera I've looked at.


My other new noctuid was the moth above - Eremobina jocasta. I've caught its cousin E. claudens here on a couple of occasions, but earlier in the season. I can't tell you much about this moth except to say that it must be pretty local within the province.


This is a large species that I only seem to catch here. It is Eurois occulta, known in UK as the Great Brocade - a very appropriate name for this impressive noctuid. I caught a few this time, but most were a bit worn and tatty. I did catch a really fresh one on the last night but I'd had enough and didn't photograph it - shameful!!


I was most disappointed to catch just one borer moth in the genus Papaipema. These are prized creatures not to be taken lightly - all are beautifully patterned in their own ways, though many are similar to one-another and pose certain identification problems. This one is Papaipema leucostigma, the Columbine Borer Moth. This is generally the commonest borer here, and the earliest one on the wing.


A great prize is this moth - Oligia bridghami, Bridgham's Brocade. I rarely catch it, and when I do they are invariably worn and grim-looking like the one above. Too bad because when fresh it is a sight to behold. I haven't caught a fresh one for over ten years now! I conclude that this is a local and scarce species in Ontario.


The darts in the genus Euxoa are very much a feature of fall moth catching. There are many of them. Some are dull and boring yet others are striking and very attractive. Very much in the latter category is the moth above Euxoa declarata. I've only caught it here and always in late August. Can't tell ya much about it right now though...


I though this was quite late. Obviously a second brood individual, I had not caught one in late August before. It is Charadra deridens, or The Laugher. An odd name for a beautiful chunky moth. It is quite common in well developed woodlands. The larvae feed on a variety of trees including beech, birches, elms, maples and oaks.


Finally, another late individual, this time the flashy prominent Nadata gibbosa, the White-dotted Prominent. A lovely moth that is common in late spring through the summer. Surely this is a second brood individual? It is common in woodlands of southern Ontario and the larvae feed on a wide variety of trees.

Hope you enjoy this fine selection - wish I could find the time to post more. Guess you'll all have to wait for the book...

Little and large...

Well, we're all well familiar with the evil Noctua pronuba - the Large Yellow Underwing. It's a Euro import that has spread widely and is now common throughout southern Ontario. In fact, if anyone has a question about a "mystery" moth it nearly always turns out to be this unwelcome character. This is partly because it does not feature in any of the popular guides. Also, they are prone to hide under bits of wood and suchlike in the garden during daylight hours and often erupt from their hiding place with a whirl of orange hindwings that attracts attention!

Anyway, this year I've started to catch its smaller cousin, namely Noctua comes, the Lesser Yellow Underwing. I've caught three thus far in my Toronto backyard trap. Another Euro import to add to all the others we get now! In the above photo you can clearly see the size difference between the two species. Lesser is usually more uniform looking generally but can be as variable as its larger cousin. Apart from size it is not as "snouty" as the big boy and looks more compact and square-ended. I dare say this devil will become as common as the the other one in the fullness of time...