Creatures of the night

Last week, July 22-30, 2017 was National Moth Week. Not a lot of people spend time looking for or at moths. Most moths are active only after dark, and if they show up in headlights or porch lights, they look like a dark creature fluttering around, and one doesn't see the often quite detailed variation in colour or pattern. It takes a bit more effort than it does to search for their colourful and much more obvious cousins, the butterflies. So moth enthusiasts, generally known as 'moth-ers' have been promoting a national week to celebrate moths.

In Canada and the USA, there are apparently a little over 750 species of butterfly and 11,000 species of moth known, with new ones still being discovered. There are lots of good butterfly reference materials available; however due to the immense number of moths, and the fact that a lot are extremely small and, to most people's way of thinking, nondescript except for the large silk moths (e.g. Cecropia, Polyphemus, Luna), there are few good sources of reference material for moths. However an excellent, fairly recent moth reference is the Peterson Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America by David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie, published in 2012. An excellent on-line source of information is the Butterflies and Moths of North America, as noted here as well as Bugguide, in this link. 

Some moths are quite visible in broad daylight, such as these first two species. This Hummingbird Clearwing is a type of Sphinx moth, sometimes seen hovering at flowers such as this Wild Bergamot.

Another one is this Squash Vine Borer moth, a far less desirable species if one is trying to grow squash in the garden. Nonetheless it is still colourful and attractive in its own right.

Squash Vine Borer

To join in the National Moth Week event, I recently set up my black light on the back patio, where there was very little competing light. I had it shining on an old white sheet that we sometimes use as a drop cloth when painting. By the time it was almost fully dark, the insects were arriving, and in fairly short order, there were several hundred of them scattered across the sheet and anywhere else there was light reflecting from the black light.

Bugs and beetles certainly outnumbered the moths by a large margin.

 Most were very small. You can see by the fine weave of the sheet that the beetle in this next image is very tiny, probably no more than about 3-4 mm in total length.

Most were difficult to identify, but some actually fit the reference material that I had access to. This next one is a type of ground beetle, probably Chlaenius aestivus.

 This is another ground beetle, known as Seedcorn Beetle (Stenolophus lineola).

Others that I photographed are as yet, unnamed. If I find out what they are, I will update this post.

But the purpose of my black-lighting was to attract moths. Again, some of them I was able to match a name to using various reference materials I had.

Epiblema sp.

Kimball's Palpita (Palpita kimballi)

Pearly Wood-Nymph (Eudryas unio)

Lesser Maple Spanworm (Speranza pustularia)

But so far, there are several others that I just haven't tracked down yet. Some were attracted to the black light itself, rather than the white sheet. These first two have now been identified via Bugguide.

Lucerne Moth (Nomophila nearctica)

Oblique-banded Leafroller (Choristoneura rosaceana)

There may be 'moth-ers' out there who can shed some light on these moths, especially the unnamed ones, so by all means, join in the discussion.

Life and Death in the Backyard

On some of these warmer, sultry days it is nice to stick close to home and the A/C. With a backyard full of native and non-native plants, there is often something to photograph if one wants to venture out.

There is always the proverbial American Robin nesting in two or three places, putting up a fuss if any human is found in proximity to its recently fledged young.

Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) is nicely coming into peak flowering condition right now.

It attracts a number of insects, and is always worth checking out. Earlier today I noted a strange looking little critter poking its head out.

I wasn't sure what it was, but kept an eye on it off and on. Eventually it got out a little further. It is only about 8 mm in total length, so I needed the macro lens and most of the extension tubes to get these shots.

 It is an Ambush Bug, and true to its name, ambushed this fly that was searching for nectar.

There has been at least one Monarch hanging around the yard every day for a couple of weeks or more.

 Red Admirals are not very common these days.

 Silver-spotted Skippers seem to be even less common.

 This is a metallic green type of sweat bee of the Halictidae group.

 Flower flies, or syrphids, are some of the most abundant species of fly visiting various flowers. The patterns on their abdomen are helpful in determining what they are. This one appears to be a member of the Allograpta genus.

Milkweeds are fairly aromatic, and attract lots of insects. I had this Hickory Hairstreak stop by briefly.

 Various flies and bees love visiting the milkweeds. However there is a danger to insects of a certain size. If they are just big enough, they can get their foot caught in the flowering parts and are not able to escape.

This next photo shows a deceased bee with its foot caught.

One can almost always find other insects visiting milkweeds.

Large Milkweed Bug

Red Milkweed Beetle

Minettia fly (about 5 mm)

Dill and parsley are favourite places for Black Swallowtails to lay their eggs. I watched this adult alight briefly and move the tip of her abdomen up to the stem.

 Not too many days later, I investigated and found two caterpillars. They are both in this next photo, but the lower one is clearly much larger than the one partially hidden by the petioles of the dill flower head. Unfortunately neither got to the stage of being able to form a pupa. Various parasitic wasps are also fairly common, and I expect one of them found these small caterpillars, paralyzed them and flew off with them to deposit in their nesting burrow. There, they will lay an egg and when it hatches, the larva will feed on the still living, but paralyzed caterpillar.

A couple of very large and impressive critters also hanging around the dill were these Cicada Killers. The first image shows the two large females, each of which was a good 5 cm (2") long. A smaller male was also around, attempting to mate with one of the females. I took these photos with a macro lens at a distance of about 12-15 cm, and used a flash. Fortunately Cicada Killers are only dangerous if you are a cicada. They are fairly docile otherwise, unless roughly handled.

Female Cicada Killer

Other odds and ends included things like this Braconid wasp, which parasitizes other insects.

 A Common Whitetail which pops in every once in awhile.

A probable Digger Wasp, which nests underground.

 Another Flower Fly type.

 An immature grasshopper.

 The non-native Brown Marmoted Stink Bug....in this case it is a nymph or sub-adult.

 A very tiny (~3 mm dia) Orange-spotted Lady Beetle.

 This large bluish/black wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus)

A lot of these images were taken with a macro lens, of course. I also used a couple of different camera bodies (Canon 5D3 or 7D2) and at times was able to use my Canon 100-400mm telephoto zoom lens which, even without extension tubes, will focus to about 3 feet, so it is especially useful in photographing butterflies. With extension tubes, both the telephoto zoom and the macro lens will enable me to get even closer. Of course I use a flash system a lot of the time as well.

I have two 100mm macro lenses, and I am considering selling my older one. It is a Canon 100 mm 2.8  USM, and includes a tripod collar and UV filter. If you were buying it new, it lists for $880, plus tax, plus the filter. In checking most on line camera outlets that post reviews, this clearly is a fine lens in itself, but I purchased an even better (and more expensive, naturally) Canon lens. A used one via a camera store that sells used equipment has listed them at about $550-600, plus tax. My lens has served me well, but I don't need this one since I upgraded, and therefore am willing to sell it for $450.

If you are interested, let me know by contacting me at prairie_tramper@yahoo.com.

Some prairie inhabitants of mid-summer

Although local butterfly counts seem to be over for the season, it is always nice to get out and explore areas for them to see what is still around. I've been out in a few places, concentrating for the most part in areas where tallgrass prairie has been planted in the last decade or so.

Many of the sites I've visited don't have a lot of prairie grasses, but lots of forbs (wildflowers) which are attractive although in a healthy prairie, should make up only about 30%-40% of the total vegetation, not the 75-80% it seems that most newly planted prairies are made up of. There is a whole topic for a future post on prairie ecology there, to be sure, but that isn't the intent of this post....maybe a future one.

At this time of year, some of the most showy prairie wildflowers are:

Prairie Milkweed

Butterflyweed

Ohio Spiderwort

Compass Plant

Gray-headed Coneflower

Mountain-mint

Some of these plants are more preferred as nectaring plants than others. But they are all part of the prairie vegetation, and are great to see.

Most of the butterflies I was able to track down are not specific to prairies but were certainly enjoying what the prairie wildflowers had to offer. This Painted Lady was visiting a clump of Mountain-mint.

 Another Painted Lady was enjoying the presumably tasty nectar of Black-eyed Susan.

 Monarchs, of course, are probably the best known butterfly. This female was resting on a Gray-headed Coneflower

 This Clouded Sulphur, with its vibrant pink edging, was sipping from a False Oxeye.

Common Wood-Nymphs are common to some degree, but they are most often seen flitting briskly over and through the vegetation. When they do land for a short time, they are often partially obscured and challenging to photograph.

Delaware Skippers seem to be fairly common in several places

 Eastern Tailed Blues are common, but not always easy to photograph.

 Sometimes it helps if they are distracted by something else.

 Viceroys are not plentiful, but are seen occasionally right now.

A butterfly I don't see often is this next one: Common Sootywing. Being as small (about 21-27mm or about one inch) and as skittish as it is, it isn't often seen by anyone I expect. I only managed to get a couple of distant shots, and this one is greatly cropped.

While it isn't a prairie site, the Reid Conservation Area north of Wallaceburg is a great spot for butterflies. I managed to catch up to a few Banded Hairstreaks earlier, but missed the Oak Hairstreak the site is known for. Apparently it wasn't a good year for the Oaks. Just yesterday I stopped by again, and saw several species, including Great Spangled Fritillary, Eastern Comma and a Least Skipper, among others.

Least Skipper

I had been hoping for a Duke's Skipper, and am quite sure I saw one, albeit briefly. However the evenly dark upper wing surface and the dark under surface with the telltale wide pale band going the length of the hindwing were fairly convincing. When photographing skippers up close, one has to move slowly. Unfortunately on this occasion, I either didn't move slowly enough and spooked the little rascal or I didn't move fast enough since just as I was focusing on it, it decided to skedaddle, and in spite of searching for it, did not see it again.

There are always lots of other things to be on the lookout for, especially when there is a lull in butterfly action. On some occasions I have seen lots more dragonflies than butterflies. It has been a good year for both of these next two species.

Eastern Pondhawk

Halloween Pennant

Pennant pair in wheel

This next one is attractive as well but not nearly as common as the previous ones.

Calico Pennant

 There are lots of moths to be found in prairies. One usually encounters them as they scurry away and hide, after being spooked when one is walking through the vegetation. The critter in this next photo is a Hummingbird Clearwing, a member of the Sphinx moth group, and can be seen flying in broad daylight. This one is sipping on Wild Bergamot.

Just to add a little more diversity to this post, I will include a photo of a Green Frog, one of the more common frog species of southern Ontario. I found several cooling off in a puddle near a prairie.

And what would a hike in the vicinity of prairies and wetlands be without a photo of a snake. This photo is of a medium sized adult Eastern Fox Snake, an endangered species in Ontario. It was quite approachable, and a close look may explain why. Note the eye on the left side of the critter. It is whitish, which means it is getting ready to shed. The outermost layer of skin, which is about to be shed, includes the covering of the eye, so at this point the eyes are cloudy and the snake has very poor eyesight. Also take a look at the right hands side of the snake's mouth and notice that it looks slightly askew.

 A closer look at this right hand side of the snake's head shows, in this next photo, that it has been damaged, and there is no eye at all! Clearly this snake has had a serious injury at some point, but it has healed over and the snake has survived. Fortunately for the snake, they have a keen sense of smell, so in spite of the poor eyesight, it can still find some food. However this individual has had more than its share of challenges to survive.