Mothing: Dor-bugs and Night Butterflies

The new moth light attracts less than the old, but that's OK by me. I captured and kept a half dozen different kinds for photographing. Moths can be a real challenge to identify and having six to work through makes for a reasonable task. Luckily I recognize all but one, so the task of labeling is made that much easier.

Large, bumbling scarab beetles were the big attraction at the light last evening. Thoreau referred to them as "dor-bugs." I was taught to call them Junebugs. Now I know these names are a catch-all for a variety of species and that some large, fossorial wasps seek out their subterranean white grubs. But I can't shake the sound of them bouncing off the window screens late at night.

The moths collected this May evening included a Waterlily Leafcutter Moth, an Isabella Tiger Moth, a Common Gluphisia, a Little White Lichen Moth, an American Angle Shades, and a Moonseed Moth. A respectable sampling of moth variety. The Waterlily Leafcutter is a from the Crambidae family and its caterpillars are aquatic. The Isabella Tiger Moth is the adult of the familiar Woolly Bear caterpillar. The Moonseed Moth is an uncommon and uncommonly colored moth the caterpillar of which feeds on its namesake plant, Moonseed. The Little White Lichen Moth and the Moonseed Moth are new species for this site.

Posted on 28 de maio de 2017, 03:32 AM by scottking