Recent Moths

Recently, the mothing has been excellent. With the very warm days and nights, I have spent the past few evenings setting up the moth sheet trap to see what comes in. After visiting the Fit Strip in Marquette for my Ecology of the Northern Forest class, I knew I had to try it for moths. It is a nice mix of deciduous and coniferous forest, so I though diversity could be high. Looks like I was right. So far, it has been the best mothing I have had. Zach Gayk joined me last night (Aug 30, 2010) to see what it was all about. Here are some pictures of moths I have identified recently. 

Common Idia- Idia aemula

Common Pug- Eupithecia miserulata

False Hemlock Looper- Nepytia canosaria

Oblique-banded Leafroller Moth- Choristoneura rosaceana

Caloptilia violacella

Ectoedemia sericopeza

Large Yellow Underwing- Noctua pronuba

Green Cloverworm Moth- Hypena scabra

Meadow-Rue Borer- Papaipema unimoda

Corn Earworm Moth- Helicoverpa zea

Ipsilon Dart- Agrotis ipsilon

Water Veneer- Acentria ephemerella

Hop Vine Moth- Hypena humuli

This is related to the Green Cloverworm Moth, but is apparently much more uncommon. Notice this species lacks the thin black line midway along the inner margin. 

Hopefully I can identify some more of the dozens of other species I have yet to figure out.

David

More Identified Moths

Looking through my pictures of moths and comparing them to pictures on bugguide.net and Moth Photographers Group, I managed to identify some moths from the past few weeks. It also made me realize how many moths I still haven't identified, and maybe never will.

Gold-striped Leaftier- Machimia tentoriferella

Celery Leaftier- Udea rubigalis

Lucerne Moth- Nomophila nearctica

White-striped Black- Trichodezia albovittata

This stunning little micro-moth came to the light trap.  Monopis spilotella

Hopefully more ID's to come!

David

Moths before Classes

Last night (Aug 22), the night before classes started back up, was clear and warm. Cloudy skies are better for moths, but as I returned home from work at 10:30pm I saw quite a few moths congregating around the light outside my apartment. I decided to hit Harlow Pathway from 11pm-12:30am, and I'm glad I did. The light attracted a handful of moths, mostly all new ones! And I've even been able to identify most of them.

Feltia tricosa? Could also be subgothica or even jaculifera. What is expected around here?

Hemlock Looper- Lambdina fiscellaria

Larch Tolype- Tolype laricis (2 came to the light, really cool moth!)

Maple Spanworm Moth- Ennomos magnaria

Crambus sp.

Haven't looked this guy up yet

This was at the light outside my apartment. Unknown for now...

Also had another Lesser Maple Spanworm Moth. Hopefully I get out mothing again tonight. I may try a new location.

David

Second Night of Trapping

I went out on the night of August 19, 2010 to see if I could attract any new species of moths. It was a clear night, and stuff didn't start coming in until after 10:30pm. I did get a few new ones, but was able to ID only one. I haven't tried much for the others as I have been really busy lately. Here are some pics.

 Pale Beauty

Machimia tentoriferella

As always, If you know the ID of any of these moths, please let me know. It would make sorting through thousands of pictures online a lot easier. Hopefully I can get out again soon as the season seems to be winding down.

David

First Moth Outing

I finally got my blacklight, and decided to go out last night (Aug 18) to see if I could attract any moths. I was able to trap for an hour before the rain started. The blacklight worked better than expected, and now I am full of moth pictures that I need to identify. Here is what was attracted to my light last night. If you know the ID of any of them, help a guy out. dtpavlik@hotmail.com

Lesser Maple Spanworm Moth

Scoparia biplagialis - I think

Decorated Owlet - I think

Edit: Syngrapha microgamma looks good (thanks Kirk). Can't find much info on this moth at all.

unknown

unknown

Edit: Looks to me like Common Gluphisia- Gluphisia septentrionis

Edit: I think this is Mustard Sallow- Pyreferra hesperidago

who knows

last unknown

Identified Moths

I've identified some moths... I think. Below are some pictures of the moths I have identified, in a following post will be pictures of unidentified moths. It is quite a process to identify a single beast, even when it is a common, unique looking moth. My moth light should be here tomorrow, lets hope it works!

Ailanthus Webworm Moth

Pondweed Moth

Eastern Tent Moth (Seney NWR)

Gray Ethmia (Wyoming)

Common Grass-veneer (Marquette)

The Gem (Marquette)

First Blog Post

Because identifying birds and butterflies is just not enough (yea, right!), I've decided to take up "mothing". I have ordered a blacklight from BioQuip and should have it next week. In Marquette, I have found a few moths that I can identify, and a lot I can't. I'll post pictures later. Hopefully I get a few good catches before mothing season winds down.

This blog will be used for moths. If you want to check out pictures of birds and butterflies, check out www.pavlikphotography.com