Moths/all things nocturnal night: Clear Creek Metro Park, next Saturday evening, August 23.

Moth/Caterpillar/Everything Nocturnal prowl: Next Saturday night, August 23, in the heart of Clear Creek Metro Park in Hocking County. This will be a fun, productive nocturnal foray. Chelsea Gottfried, coauthor of the new book Gardening for Moths, kicks things off with a lushly illustrated PowerPoint presentation on moths, followed by mothing at various light stations. Jim McCormac and Clear Creek naturalist Katie Bennett, along with Chelsea, will help in searching for interesting creatures of the night and we should see many. This has been an amazing year for caterpillars, and we'll be seeking those with blacklight flashlights.

The fun starts at 7:30 pm, and all of the details are RIGHT HERE.

The following images were made last Saturday night (8/16) at a nocturnal event at the amazing Scioto Gardens native plant nursery in Delaware County. The diversity of critters there was incredible, and I'll hope to write more about that experience later. This offers a wee sampling of the sorts of creatures that we'll find at the Clear Creek event this Saturday.

Carolina Sphinx (Manduca sexta)

Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio troilus)

Gray Furcula caterpillar (Furcula cinerea)

White-banded Crab Spider (Misumenoides formosipes)

An incredible mothing night: Part II

Picking up where I left off in the last post - mothing at the Highlands Nature Sanctuary in Highland County, Ohio - here's another apparent dead leaf mimic, the White-dotted Prominent, Nadata gibbosa. As a caterpillar it is an oak feeder, and when the moth is perched on old oak leaf litter, as this animal is, it blends quite well.

A Holy Grail moth, and one we were excited to see. This bizarre oddity is a Harris's Three-spot, Harrisimemna trisignata. From certain angles it appears quite spider-like, as does its REALLY bizarre caterpillar. Not one, not two, but FOUR of these creatures came into the sheets. I'm normally doing well to see one a season.

This is the same three-spot photographed from the rear view. As someone suggested, it looks like a weird Dracula, cape outspread.

When there are several thousand moth species wafting around the state, it isn't hard to see a "life" moth. This is the Oystershell Metrea Moth, Cliniodes ostreonalis, and it was new to me. There are only two records for Ohio in iNaturalist, so apparently it's scarce in this region.

One of our most beautiful sphinx moths - and that's saying something! - the Hydrangea Sphinx, Darapsa versicolor. In my experience, it's not very frequent. Caterpillars feed on our (Ohio's) only native hydrangea, Wild Hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens. Plenty of host plants were close at hand at this site.

Sphinx moths are excellent photographic fodder. This is a Pandorus Sphinx, Eumorpha pandorus, looking rather alienlike. It is a specialist on members of the grape family (Vitaceae). Grape and creeper species are keystone species in that they produce a large number of specialist moths, and are a pivotal part of food chains.

John Howard deployed his moth-wrangling skills, and created a sphinx wall of fame. From bottom left, clockwise, we have Ash Sphinx, Manduca jasminearum, Virginia Creeper Sphinx, Darapsa myron, Hydrangea Sphinx, Darapsa versicolor, Elm Sphinx, Ceratomia amyntor, and Azalea Sphinx, Darapsa choerilus.

As with the spinx moths, it was a red letter night for royal silkworm moths. This family is full of beauty, and its species are probably the biggest crowd-pleasers. This is a male Io Moth, Automeris io. We had many, but all were male. I rarely see females, for whatever reason. Maybe they just aren't attracted to lights very much. Ios are characterized by those huge eye spots. At rest, the moth folds its forewings in concealing the spots. Touch it, and the moth quickly flicks its wings open, and Voila! Big scary eyes. Probably an effective visual deterrent to small songbirds and other would-be predators.

This is usually the most frequent of the silkmoths, the Rosy Maple Moth, Dryocampa rubicunda. This night was no exception. Probably 15-20 came in. They are irresistible photo subjects.

While lacking the bright colors of the previous subject, the Tuliptree Silkmoth, Callosamia angulifera, is no less spectacular. This is a big one, the size of a small bat.

While walking between sheets and searching for caterpillars, Kim Banks found the caterpillar of another tuliptree feeder, the Tuliptree-beauty, Epimecis hortaria. This stout inchworm is noticeably thickened around the head. The moth that it becomes is an absolute master of bark mimicry. See THIS POST for an example.

Finally, towards the end of our night, John created yet another wall of fame, this one of four silkmoth species. We had no choice but to wait until late into the night to pose these moths. Silkmoths often do not appear until the wee hours. This night, the majority materialized between 1:30am and 3:30am, when we finally packed up.

From bottom left, clockwise: Tuliptree Silkmoth, Callosamia angulifera, Regal Moth, Citheronia regalis, Luna, Actias luna, and Imperial Moth, Eacles imperialis.

Moths are an excellent barometer of ecosystem health. When a night of mothing yields a haul such as documented in this post and the last (and there were scores of other species), the surrounding ecosystems are diverse, largely free of toxins, and supporting robust ecological webs. At this site, the conservation heavy lifting has been done by the Arc of Appalachia. This amazingly productive organization has now conserved about 7,000 acres of Ohio's richest wildlands. Read more about their work RIGHT HERE.

An incredible mothing night

An extremely productive moth sheet hangs from the side of a barn in Highland County, Ohio. The purplish light to the left is a UV (blacklight), and the big one towards the center of the sheet is a Mercury Vapor light. An excellent combo for maximizing moth attraction. John Howard, Kim Banks, and I were out running sheets into the wee hours on the night of July 17-18 (packed up around 3:30 am!), and experienced some of the best mothing in recent memory. Thanks to Nancy Stranahan, director of the Arc of Appalachia, for allowing us to survey an interesting swath of their property.

Native plants and the diversity thereof drive moth numbers and diversity. The Arc property that we surveyed is incredibly rich in floristic diversity. Thus: Plants = caterpillars = moths.

I am going to make this a two-part series, as I have so many cool moths to share. And if this blog seems heavy on insects of late, it probably is. Three big projects - two books, and a photography project - have cut my field time WAY down. Mostly it's been nocturnal mothing forays.

Non-moths often visit illuminated sheets, especially if water features are nearby. In this case, Rocky Fork with its exceptionally clean water is not far off. Because of this, a stunning number of huge Dobsonflies, Corydalus cornutus, came to the sheets. The larvae are called Hellgrammites, and are strictly aquatic. After multiple years in the water, the larvae transform to these amazing winged adults, which can approach a half-foot in length. The long-mandibled male (L) lives about three days; the female about 12 days. We lured probably 20 Dobsonflies.

As everyone who sees a male Dobsonfly wants to know, no - they cannot pinch. Formidable as those mandibles appear, the insect cannot generate any force with them. I know, having stuck my finger in there to affirm this for myself. It apparently uses the mandibles to joust with other males, sort of like an entomological elk.

A gorgeous Rose Hooktip, Oreta rosea. I personally do not see many of these showy moths. They are said to feed on birch as caterpillars, but I have only seen the cats on viburnum, specifically Arrowwood, Viburnum dentatum. The caterpillar is interesting in that it hides in plain sight atop a leaf during the day, looking much like a bit of plant debris.

The Giant Leopard Moth, Hypercompe scribonia, always a crowd-pleaser. We probably saw 15-20, maybe more. This species is very much the generalist, its caterpillars consuming a wide array of often weedy plants.

A trio of Clymene Moths, Haploa clymene. +This is another moth that always attracts attention and elicits comments. People often notice them, as they are prone to resting in exposed areas atop leaves during the day.

The Badwing (that's really its name), Dyspteris abortivaria, stares menacingly at the camera. The tiny moth could fit comfortably on a quarter. Note the reddish mite affixed to its abdomen under a wing. Mites are not uncommon on moths. Indeed, there is a specialized group of mites that only inhabits moths' ear canals (the mite in this photo is not one of these). But only one of the two ear canals. To congest both canals would affect the moth's ability to detect the echolocation of incoming bats (big moth predators). In fact, there is a book devoted to this arcane subject: Mites of Moths and Butterflies (Asher Treat, 1975).

A personal favorite, the Black-waved Flannel Moth, Megalopyge crispata. The moths are extremely photogenic. It is a very common species, and the caterpillars eat a wide array of plants. The cats also pack a punishing sting due to their venomous spines.

Some moth species are quite easy to work with, from a photographic perspective. In general, the fuzzier they are, the easier they can be handled and moved around. Also, in general the larger the moth, the more easy it is to manipulate. So, we can move such species to substrates more favorable than the stark white, brightly illuminated sheet that attracted them in the first place.

A showy species with a less than showy name: Tufted Bird Dropping Mimic Moth, Cerma cerintha. There are many species of moths (and other organisms) that ape the appearance of bird droppings. This allows them to hide in plain sight during the day. Apparently very few things want to eat bird droppings.

The Smaller Parasa, Parasa chloris, is without doubt one of our coolest moths. It's another personal fav. The brown and lime color scheme isn't common, and maybe that's why it generally holds appeal to all who cast eyes on one. The caterpillar, seen and photographed from the right angle, looks like a Hippopotamus. It's one of the slug moths, which are named for the mode of locomotion of the caterpillars. All of them are showy, and dozens of many slug moth species came to our lights on this night.

We were quite pleased to have numerous Spun-glass Slug Moths, Isochaetes beutenmuelleri, appear. The tiny moth is rather ornate, and I'm sure it's all but invisible when resting on senescent foliage or leaf litter during the day. The caterpillar is what the name stems from, and it looks like a Swarovski crystal. A photo of one is in THIS POST.

Two consummate dead leaf mimic moths, doing their thing: looking like dead leaves, on dead leaves. Spotted Apatelodes, Apatelodes torrefacta (L) and a pair of Angel Moths, Olceclostera angelica. A great many moth species have evolved coloration and patterning that blends with abundant forest leaf litter. These two species - which are larger moths - would be nearly impossible to spot on the forest floor. Note how the Apatelodes even curls its abdomen upward to create disruptive patterning and rendering itself even more unrecognizable.

The next post will cover another swath of moths from this expedition, including some rarities and huge jaw-droppers.

Moths at the lights

A Harnessed Tiger Moth, Apantesis phalerata, flutters around one of my night lights. I'm sure that you've got moths visiting your lights, too. Be careful; they become addictive! I found myself going outside frequently to see what might have dropped in, and snapping photos of the scaly-winged visitors. My neighbor popped over last night, wondering what I was doing. Can't blame her - from afar, it looks like I'm staring at the walls, and occasionally lighting the place up with camera flash. So I told her, and I think she thinks I am weird. Possibly, but once you start really looking at moths, and studying their often subtle beauty, the desire to see more of them grows.

Following is a pictorial checklist of just a sampling of the species that I've seen either here at my house in Columbus, or during one night last weekend at a cabin in Jackson County. No special effort was made to lure them; these all just came into the regular porch lights.

Here's that Harnessed Tiger Moth in repose.

 Ash-tip Borer, Papaipema cerussata

Banded Tussock Moth, Halysidota tessellaris

Black-bordered Lemon, Marimatha nigrofimbria

 

Chickweed Geometer, Haematopis grataria

Closeup of male Chickweed Geometer's antennae

Common Looper, Autographa precationis

Delicate Cycnia, Cycnia tenera

Double-banded Grass Veneer, Crambus agitatellus

The Beggar, Eubaphe mendica

Friendly Probole, Probole amicaria

Bold-feathered Grass Moth, Herpetogramma pertextalis

Virginian Tiger Moth, Spilosoma virginica

Clymene Moth, Haploa clymene

The past few nights, I've been getting blizzards of these tiny moths.

Up close, they're rather charming with those swept-back plumes. This is the Clemens' Grass Tubeworm Moth, Acrolophus popeanella, an animal with a name far bigger than its size. Their caterpillars feast on red clover, and there's plenty of that around here. Thanks to Michael Fitts and Diane Brooks for putting me onto the correct identification of this one.

 

In a way, mothing is a bit like fishing, and night lights are the bait. You just never know what interesting creatures are going to show up.