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| Virginia Creeper Sphinx |
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| Blinded Sphinx |
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| Snowberry Clearwing |
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| Hummingbird Clearwing |
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| Modest Sphinx |
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| Blinded Sphinx |
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| Modest Sphinx |
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| Twin-spotted Sphinx |
Tuesday, 24 July 2018
Sphinxes!
Here are a few sphinx moths I have encountered over the past few weeks. They are always a thrill!
Saturday, 21 July 2018
National Moth Week 2018
It is National Moth Week! National Moth Week (NMW) is an international week designated (by enthusiasts, I believe no *official* designation yet) to the observation of moths!
Mothing (the art of looking at moths, much like "birding") is a surprisingly fun and addicting past time. Only recently did I discover this hobby, but I have quickly grown to love it. In a little of a month, I have already identified almost 200 species right in my own urban backyard here in London!
Mothing is a very easy thing to do, and requires almost no equipment. Much like birding, you can get as "high tech" as you want, or stick with the basics. The easiest thing you can do is just turn on an exterior light and see what shows up. If you wish to get a bit fancier, you can hang up a bed sheet outside (a white cotton one works best), and shine a light source on it. Different moths are attracted to different frequencies of light, so depending on what type of light you use with determine how many and what species of moths you attract.
The light source is the most important part of attracting moths. Black lights work well, and are fairly inexpensive, and can be easily found in nearby stores. The best option is a Mercury Vapour light bulb, however they seem to be hard to come across, so you'll most likely have to order one off the internet. MV bulbs tend to be more expensive, however they are the best option to attract the most number of moths. I find this one works well.
If you are not interested in buying a "specialty bulb", don't think you can't get in on the fun! Pretty much any light source will work (though I have found that a flashlight is ineffective).
If you don't feel like staying up late, then you can also look for moths during the day! While you won't often see the larger ones, you will most definitely find the smaller ones, and you should get lucky with a few geometer moths. Just walking through some grass will often flush them. Many cool moths also fly during the day, such as clearwing sphinxes and clearwing borers.
Moth identification is probably the most frustrating part of mothing. There are many good sources from which you can learn, and may even be able to help you ID the moth if you have a photo. One of my biggest aids in identification is iNaturalist. With a single photo, iNat is able to give you a pretty good guess as to what something is. I will warn you that iNat takes some getting used to, and can be a hard "transition" if you are a user of eBird. iNat is not very hard to use however, and after playing around with it for a bit, you should be able to figure out the basics.
There are many other sources for help, such as the Moth Photographers Group, BugGuide, and Backyard Nature (links below). These sites may be a bit confusing, as they use a lot of scientific names, however feature lots of high quality pictures to help with ID.
The best way to start with moths is to focus on the bigger ones first, and as you become more comfortable, start to look at the smaller ones.
Moth ID sources:
Moth Photographers Group (for a walkthrough of the site, see here)
BugGuide (moth ID section here)
Backyard Nature (Ontario Moths)
As I said before, the best place to put your moth records is in iNaturalist. iNaturalist is great because even if you are not sure of a species, someone is apt to come along and help you with your identification.
If you are using iNaturalist, and are unsure of an ID, just tag me in the description of your observation (@birds_bugs_botany) I am by no means an expert, but I will try my best to help you out!
Speaking of iNaturalist, the project for the 2018 National Moth Week observations in Canada can be found here. All your sightings will be automatically added!
If you have any questions regarding moths or iNaturalist, please feel free to ask!
I challenge everyone reading this to give mothing, either nocturnal or diurnal, a try at least once this week. I am sure you will enjoy it. Even if you cannot identify everything, you will appreciate the beauty of these fabulous creatures!
For a bit more info on mothing, see this link, or just do a bit of googling!
HAPPY MOTHING!!!!
***Note: Any grammatical errors are due to lack of sleep because I was mothing all night
Mothing (the art of looking at moths, much like "birding") is a surprisingly fun and addicting past time. Only recently did I discover this hobby, but I have quickly grown to love it. In a little of a month, I have already identified almost 200 species right in my own urban backyard here in London!
Mothing is a very easy thing to do, and requires almost no equipment. Much like birding, you can get as "high tech" as you want, or stick with the basics. The easiest thing you can do is just turn on an exterior light and see what shows up. If you wish to get a bit fancier, you can hang up a bed sheet outside (a white cotton one works best), and shine a light source on it. Different moths are attracted to different frequencies of light, so depending on what type of light you use with determine how many and what species of moths you attract.
The light source is the most important part of attracting moths. Black lights work well, and are fairly inexpensive, and can be easily found in nearby stores. The best option is a Mercury Vapour light bulb, however they seem to be hard to come across, so you'll most likely have to order one off the internet. MV bulbs tend to be more expensive, however they are the best option to attract the most number of moths. I find this one works well.
If you are not interested in buying a "specialty bulb", don't think you can't get in on the fun! Pretty much any light source will work (though I have found that a flashlight is ineffective).
If you don't feel like staying up late, then you can also look for moths during the day! While you won't often see the larger ones, you will most definitely find the smaller ones, and you should get lucky with a few geometer moths. Just walking through some grass will often flush them. Many cool moths also fly during the day, such as clearwing sphinxes and clearwing borers.
 |
| Squash Vine Borer |
Moth identification is probably the most frustrating part of mothing. There are many good sources from which you can learn, and may even be able to help you ID the moth if you have a photo. One of my biggest aids in identification is iNaturalist. With a single photo, iNat is able to give you a pretty good guess as to what something is. I will warn you that iNat takes some getting used to, and can be a hard "transition" if you are a user of eBird. iNat is not very hard to use however, and after playing around with it for a bit, you should be able to figure out the basics.
There are many other sources for help, such as the Moth Photographers Group, BugGuide, and Backyard Nature (links below). These sites may be a bit confusing, as they use a lot of scientific names, however feature lots of high quality pictures to help with ID.
The best way to start with moths is to focus on the bigger ones first, and as you become more comfortable, start to look at the smaller ones.
Moth ID sources:
Moth Photographers Group (for a walkthrough of the site, see here)
BugGuide (moth ID section here)
Backyard Nature (Ontario Moths)
As I said before, the best place to put your moth records is in iNaturalist. iNaturalist is great because even if you are not sure of a species, someone is apt to come along and help you with your identification.
If you are using iNaturalist, and are unsure of an ID, just tag me in the description of your observation (@birds_bugs_botany) I am by no means an expert, but I will try my best to help you out!
Speaking of iNaturalist, the project for the 2018 National Moth Week observations in Canada can be found here. All your sightings will be automatically added!
If you have any questions regarding moths or iNaturalist, please feel free to ask!
I challenge everyone reading this to give mothing, either nocturnal or diurnal, a try at least once this week. I am sure you will enjoy it. Even if you cannot identify everything, you will appreciate the beauty of these fabulous creatures!
For a bit more info on mothing, see this link, or just do a bit of googling!
HAPPY MOTHING!!!!
 |
| Virginia Creeper Sphinx |
 |
| Orange-headed Epicallima Moth |
 |
| Glorious Habrosyne |
 |
| Western Bean Cutworm |
 |
| Willow Leafcone Caterpillar Moth |
 |
| Modest Sphinx |
***Note: Any grammatical errors are due to lack of sleep because I was mothing all night
Thursday, 19 July 2018
Ojibway Adventures
Last Sunday I went down to the Ojibway complex in Windsor. I managed to catch up with a few cool things, including my lifer Dukes' Skipper and Spicebush Swallowtail!
There were a few plants in bloom.
Due to the very hot and humid temperatures, not many butterflies were out and about, but I was still able to find a few.
Not overly too many dragonflies and damselflies, but a few.
All in all a good day, hopefully I can get down there again before I embark on an "adventure" later this summer....
There were a few plants in bloom.
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| Grey-headed Coneflower |
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| American Bladderwort |
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| Common Jewelweed |
Due to the very hot and humid temperatures, not many butterflies were out and about, but I was still able to find a few.
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| Red-spotted Purple |
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| Wild Indigo Duskywing |
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| Giant Swallowtail |
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| Viceroy |
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| Acadian Hairstreak |
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| Silver-spotted Skipper |
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| Delaware Skipper |
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| Dukes' Skipper #1 |
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| Dukes' Skipper #2 |
Not overly too many dragonflies and damselflies, but a few.
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| Ebony Jewelwing |
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| Ruby Meadowhawk |
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| Common Baskettail |
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| Emerald Spreadwing |
Of course, there were a couple other insects as well.
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| Black Horsefly |
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| Sculptured Resin Bee |
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| Dogbane Leaf Beetle |
All in all a good day, hopefully I can get down there again before I embark on an "adventure" later this summer....
Sunday, 15 July 2018
Butterflies Close By
Along with dragonflies, I have been checking out a few butterflies in my area. I recently (last few days) found nice patch of Hemp Dogbane beside a construction site, and so far I have found a few nice butterflies there.
One of my highlights this week was finding a small "population" of Common Sootywings, an uncommon butterfly in Ontario. There were about a dozen individuals.
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| Hemp Dogbane |
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| Hickory Hairstreak |
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| Dion Skipper |
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| Eastern Tailed Blue |
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| Banded Hairstreak |
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| Northern Broken Dash |
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| Wild Indigo Duskywing |
Saturday, 14 July 2018
Odes to Joy
Recently I have been spending as much time as I can outside (and when I am inside, I am spending all my free time on iNaturalist...give it a try!) I have enjoyed studying a few dragonflies and damselflies (odonata aka odes) in my neighborhood.
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| Unicorn Clubtail |
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| Marsh Bluet |
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| Eastern Forktail |
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| Orange Bluet |
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| Eastern Pondhawk (female) |
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| Familiar Bluet |
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| Widow Skimmer |
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| Common Green Darner |
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| Slender Spreadwing (male) |
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| Fragile Forktail |
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| Blue Dasher |
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| Eastern Pondhawk (male) |
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| Sedge Sprite |
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| Autumn Meadowhawk |
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| Slender Spreadwing (female) |
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| Twelve-spotted Skimmer |
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