Not a great start to August…Mainly due to the wet weather there hasn’t been a great deal for me to post since last Friday. In addition to fairly low numbers, for the time of year, a high percentage of moths in the trap are quite worn so not great subjects for photography. Oligia rampartensis is probably one of the most colourful Noctuid moths in Alberta but sadly this specimen did have some damage. The weather for tonight looks decidedly wet again The approximate numbers of macro moths over the last few days are as follows. I didn’t put the trap out last night or on the 5th August. Sat 3rd August – 59 moths of 16 species. No new species for the year. I’ve included a Dragonfly and Damselfly photograph. The Dragonfly was taken last Friday in the Banff, Cave and Basin area. The Damselfly was taken yesterday in my backyard during a short period of sunshine.
A good moth nightIn spite of some rain during the night and early morning it was a good night for backyard moths. I counted 103 macro moths of 30 species in the light trap. 6 of them were new for the year and included a White-streaked Looper (Plusia venusta) which I have only recorded once before in August 2010. A very nice looking Plusiinae. The 6 also included my second Underwing of the year, a Semirelict Underwing Moth (Catocala semirelicta), which found it’s way into my bait trap. I never get great numbers of Underwings, probably a consequence of the area I live in, so I’m always pleased to see them. The new species for the year were as follows: Dark-spotted Looper (Diachrysia aereoides)
Blog entries for the 27th July to 1st AugustWell, cooler overnight temperatures and wetter conditions have reduced the moth numbers for a few nights but here’s a summary of the numbers and species in the light and bait traps. I didn’t put the light trap out on the 28th and only the bait trap was out on the 30th. Also, these numbers do not include a few unidentified moths or micro moths. 27th July – 24 moths of 13 species. 3 were new for for the year : 29th July – 45 moths 11 species. 30th July – 9 moths of 3 species. 31st July – 60 moths 18 species. 1st August - 96 moths of 24 species. 2 new species for the year: As can be seen the moth numbers are picking up again. However, I’m getting quite a number of worn moths so they are not always good photographic subjects. It’s also the time of the year when I get those tricky Euxoa species of moth. Often with these the only way to be certain of an identification is by dissection so some will remain unidentified. Here are some of the new species and what I believe is a Red-spot Polia (Lacinipolia davena). Certainly, a nice looking moth. The Black Army Cutworm (Actebia fennica) can be identified as a male because of the broad pale border along the posterior edge of the forewing. This is lacking in the female Actebia fennica.
A slower moth nightI retrieved the light trap at 10pm for an hour while an impressive storm moved around the area. The rain appeared to reduce the moth numbers, as compared to the previous night, although, there were still 92 moths of 21 species. There was 1 new Noctuid but I haven’t identified it yet. I did manage to photograph a Northwestern Phoenix Moth (Eulithis xylina). This is a moth that never seems to settle for more than a few seconds but for once it stayed long enough for me to try some some focus stacking with 3 images. I think the result is ok? As it is a slow photograph day I though I would add a recent River Otter picture taken in Vancouver while I was on vacation.
A bumper moth night!Last night the storms avoided us and I was able to leave the light trap out all night. I was rewarded with at least 149 moths of 34 species. 14 of these were new moths for the year and 1 of the 14 was a first for the backyard. The new record was an impressive looking moth called a Green-patched Looper Moth (Diachrysia balluca). This is also called a Hologram moth which is understandable when you see the light reflecting off of the forewing. I feel that my photographs do not really do it justice but I did take one photograph with a flashlight pointing at it. As you can see the colour changed from green to bronze when the light was directed at the moth. In addition to this I found my first Underwing moth of the year in the bait trap. So all in all it was a very good moth night! The new species for the year were: **Green-patched Looper Moth (Diachrysia balluca)**
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