Fun with insects

I made successful another attempt at black lighting for insects a few weeks ago. Actually with a little bit of work, it is hard not to have it be successful: choose a warm, calm night at a location without many competing lights and it is almost sure to bring a good variety of invertebrates to the black light shining on a white sheet. Attracting and photographing them is half the challenge, with the other half being trying to identify them! And that is the main reason for this post being several weeks after the event.

Even using the best reference material can sometimes cause confusion. These next two images are of the same species, the Ipsilon Dart (Agrotis ipsilon), but most references show only one profile.

Another medium sized moth was this Maple Spanworm (Ennomos magnaria).

Some critters are extremely tiny. This next one is a mere 3-4 mm long, and looks at first like a fly. Actually it turns out to be a female Braconid Wasp of the Euphorinae family.

Some variability in a species can also cause some challenges. These next two images are of a Faint-spotted Palthis (Palthis asopialis). There are strong similarities, but subtle differences as well.

Some critters are large and bumbling. This large dark beetle is well over 2 cm in length. It is a member of the water scavenger beetle genus known as Hydrophilus. There was no water within several hundred metres of where I was located, and I had several of them visit my black light set-up, so this species is clearly a hardy flier.

One group of small insects I am becoming more fascinated with is the Leafhoppers (Cicadellidae). They are numerous, with more than 20,000 species described world wide. Some are merely 2-3 mm in length, while some of the larger ones are 6 mm or more. They mostly specialize in feeding on the sap of plants, but can be harmful by transmitting disease to commercial crops. Many are colourful, but being so tiny, are difficult to photograph even with good macro equipment. One of the most colourful ones I have encountered I see regularly on milkweed plants in bright daylight.

Red-banded Leafhopper (Graphocephala coccinea)

Here are a few that came to my black light.

Bespeckled Leafhopper (Paraphlepsius irroratus)

Eight-lined Leafhopper (Gyponana octolineata)

Ponana quadralaba

 This next one reminds me of candy corn.

Saddleback Leafhopper (Colladonus clitellarius)

Sharpshooter (Draeculacephala robinsoni)