Backyard Moth Mania

For the past couple of months, I have been "mothing", or looking at moths, in my yard. I have been at this since June 2018, but last July (which is peak time), I really slacked off. I think I was just exhausted after spending a hardcore weekend in Algonquin!

This year there hasn't been much going on (I'm sure its evident why!), so I have been able to set up my sheet and mercury vapour light almost every night, weather depending. I have been having an excellent season so far, with over 370 different species of moths recorded. Just a few nights ago, I actually surpassed 500 species for my all time yard list. At the beginning of the season, my yard list was somewhere around 360 species, so I'd say I've had some great luck.

Here are a few of my highlights!

Walnut Sphinx

Northern Pine Looper

Indented Dichomeris Moth

Peppered Moth

Yellow Slant-Line

Beggar Moth

Blinded Sphinx

Buck's Plume Moth

Yellow-winged Leafroller

Powder Moth

Rose Hooktip

Dimorphic Tosale Moth

Delicate Cycnia

Common Lytrosis

Virginia Creeper Sphinx

Spear-marked Black

Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth

Olive Angle Shades

Orange-headed Epicallima Moth

Sharp-lined Yellow

Yellow-headed Cutworm

Streaked Ethmia Moth

Red-lined Panopoda

Linden Bark Borer

Minor Grass-Veneer

Thin-lined Owlet

Linden Prominent

Juniper Geometer Moth

Basswood Leafroller

Mottled Prominent

Oblique Heterocampa Moth

Beautiful Wood-Nypmh

Skiff Moth

Cochylis bucera

Black-rimmed Prominent 

Glorious Habrosyne

Western Furcula

Hologram Moth

Eastern Black-headed Budworm Moth

Pandoras Sphinx

This week is National Moth Week, so get out and see some moths!

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In other news, I thought I'd just tack on these ode pictures from North London this week. Spot-winged Glider is a lifer for me, Saffron-winged Meadowhawk is a first Middlesex county record, and Pronghorn Clubtail is always cool.

Spot-winged Glider

Saffron-winged Meadowhawk

Pronghorn Clubtail