More Creatures

A couple of posts ago I highlighted some of the night time creatures that came in to my black light set-up. It was in a hardwood forest clearing away from any lights, at Rondeau. To see the way my set-up looked, and to see the non-moth critters that visited me, check it out here.

To finish this topic off, at least for now, I will highlight the moths that I was able to capture on digital film. I know I missed some shots, since focusing in very low light is a challenge for the camera. But overall I was pleased with the diversity of moths I was able to capture. I was able to identify quite a few on my own, using the Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America by David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie, but some were just too much of a challenge and so I got some assistance via the on-line database known as BugGuide.

Some came to the light itself.

Garden Webworm Achyra rantalis

Chickweed Geometer Haematopis grataria

Purple-backed Cabbageworm Evergestis pallidata

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba

 There were lots of this next one, Caddisflies, which are actually moth look-a-likes. I'm sure there are different species, but apparently caddisflies are notoriously difficult to identify to species from a photo alone.

But the majority came to the lit up sheet, and were easier to shoot with the camera.

Common Idia Idia aemula

Definite Tussock Moth Orgyia definita

Double-striped Scoparia Scoparia biplagialis

Many moths are fairly drab, as you can see, but being active primarily at night, they don't need a lot of colour, at least not the kind that we can see. However there are some that are much more brightly coloured, such as this next one. It looks a bit like a bird dropping. There are some moths known as bird dropping types, but this one does not go by that name.

 Beautiful Wood-Nymph Eudryas grata

 These next two are actually the same kind, but show some variation in their colouring.

Gold-striped Leaftier Machimia tentoriferella

Grateful Midget Elaphria grata

Flowing-lined Snout Hypena manalis

Green Cloverworm Hypena scabra

 One of the brightest ones I came across is this next one.

Scarlet-winged Lichen Moth Hypoprepia miniata

Ambiguous Moth Lascoria ambigualis

Master's Dart Feltia herilis

Chestnut-marked Pondweed Parapoynx badiusalis

Plume Moth sp.

These next two are also the same kind, Pondside Crambid Elophila icciusalis, but show some variation in colour.

Faint-spotted Palthis Palthis asopialis

Water Lily Leafcutter Elophila obliteralis

Spotted Grass Moth Rivula propinqualis

Pyrausta bicoloralis Bicolored pyrausta

All of these moths are fairly small, as you can tell by the size of the weave of the cotton sheet. I do hope to get out much earlier in the season next year with the hopes of attracting some of the big silkworm moths. But regardless, one never knows what might show up at a black light. I have had some success in my own back yard, which is well away from any real natural area although I have planted trees and native wildflowers to make it more appealing to some local wildlife. It has always been worth the effort to get to know some of the lesser known creatures that inhabit nearby areas.

Red-necked Phalarope, Say's Phoebe and more

Both Say's Phoebe and Red-necked Phalarope are unusual, and therefore 'good', birds in the views of birders. The Phoebe is by far the rarer of the two, so to see both of them on the same day in southwestern Ontario was exceptional indeed.

I had spent part of the day yesterday (the 26th) doing some field work at Rondeau. I was finishing up a survey of an endangered orchid, but more on that in another post. Afterwards I checked out the Morpeth Cliffs area, since the winds seemed to be favourable for raptor migration. I didn't spend a lot of time there, but got half a dozen species. I did want to get to the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons, since the weather system with lots of wind, rain, thunder and lightning of the previous 24 hours meant that there was probably a different group of birds there.

There was a greater variety of ducks present than on my previous couple of visits, including more Northern Shovelers and Ruddy Ducks than I had seen in awhile. A female Hooded Merganser was also there. But shorebirds were what I was really looking for, and I was not disappointed. I noted 10 species altogether, quite respectable for the time of year. Included in that number were Short-billed Dowitcher and both yellowlegs species.

Greater Yellowlegs

 Most shorebirds weren't very close, but I was able to get within a reasonable distance of a few.

Solitary Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Way off by itself in the southeast corner of the middle southern pond was this phalarope, spinning around, darting here and there as it picked things off the water surface. Even from a distance I could see it wasn't a more common Wilson's. But I couldn't get the ideal angle of sun and close vantage point for the kind of photograph I was hoping for. Hence I had to settle for a bunch of attempts, and the one below is one of the better ones, and highly cropped. It was a Red-necked Phalarope. One had been seen at these lagoons several weeks ago, but not for long and only a couple of people were able to see it. Therefore I was pleased to have found this one.

It was sunny but windy, making it good to find butterflies in some of the more sheltered areas. I came across a good variety, including several Monarchs, lots of Bronze Coppers, several Common Checkered Skippers and lots of the usual sulphurs and Cabbage Whites, among other species.

Common Checkered Skipper

Bronze Copper

Viceroy

I was on my way home when I got the word that a Say's Phoebe had been seen, but on a private property between Blenheim and Erieau. It was not a publicly accessible property, but I had permission via the owner to come on to it while accompanied by the owner's representative.

It took a bit of searching and I did see it very briefly as it left a tree, circled around behind a large maple and then disappeared. But it had a habit of moving fairly frequently, so after a bit more patience, we found it again not up too high in a dead tree, and in beautiful late day sunlight. I took a number of photos, of course, and this is one of the better ones. The normally salmon coloured flanks are not all that visible in this photo; the belly is nicely warmed by the late day sun.

This is the second record for the greater Rondeau Checklist area, with the first one being found 4 years previously and about a week earlier in the month.

With Say's Phoebe as well as the mega rarity Greater Kiskadee being present in the Rondeau area just weeks apart, what will be next??

Creatures of the Night

Most of us feel more comfortable in daylight, or in some other lit up situation. However in the natural world there is a whole lot of critters out there that mostly go under appreciated, at least by the human segment of the world.

One way to find what is out there is to spend time around lights at night, or checking around them in the morning if they have been left on all night. Another way is to set up a light in an area not normally lit up by anything other than the moon and stars.

On several occasions I have taken my black light equipment, along with a big white sheet, and gone to a hardwood forest clearing at Rondeau. It is an area that has no artificial lighting. In the declining daylight it looks like this.

 In full darkness with only the black light on. The black light makes every white thing really stand out, which is why I choose an area that doesn't have any competing artificial light.

There are noises in the forest after dark, ranging from Eastern Screech Owls and Great Horned Owls calling back and forth as well as one or more coyotes howling, sometimes at a fairly close distance. And just before it gets totally dark, the hum of insects almost drowns out the owls. But once it is fully dark, the insect chorus diminishes almost completely.

So there I am, usually by myself and the insects that are investigating this strange light in their back yard. It isn't long until hundreds of insects arrive. Many are too small to really identify, but others are at least large enough so that I can use my macro lens, extension tube and ring flash and get some worthwhile photos.

Moths are one group that I like to see. There are hundreds and hundreds, and many are very small and appearing drab, at least until the flash of the camera highlights the intricacies of pattern and colour.

However this post will deal with only the various beetles and bugs I managed to 'capture'. I will leave the moths to a future post. Many of the critters I was able to identify using my own literature references. However there were some that were just not apparent, and the online database BugGuide was very helpful.

One of the first big critters that arrived was this Diving Water Beetle (Dytiscus verticalis). It is normally found in wetlands on the prowl for smaller insects to feast on. Its body is about 4 cm long.

 By contrast was this much smaller beetle, about a quarter the size of the diving beetle. It is of the genus Berosus, a member of the aquatic beetle group.

 I was pleased that this planthopper arrived for a photo session.

Flatormenis proxima

A few stinkbugs were roaming around, sometimes on the sheet and sometimes on the pole holding the black light.

Banasa calva

 Large craneflies put in an appearance.

Tipula cf.furca

Other 'flies' were around, including this member of the Chironomids, or midges. The feathery antennae indicate it is a male.

Ablabesmyia sp

And another midge. I believe that the chorus of insects humming so loudly just before dark was due to a great number of these midge types of insects. Mosquitoes were hardly noticed at all, and I wasn't needing any repellant.

Chironomus sp

The type of flies that we normally see were very uncommon. This Pollenia, a species of cluster fly, was one of the few.

Syrphid flies, also known as Flower Flies, are more typically seen during the daytime. This one came by to check me out.

Toxomerus politus

 This next one is a Lace-wing type of fly.

Green Lacewing

Even members of the Orthoptera can show up, although they have been quite few and far between during the times I've been out this year. This one landed on the sheet and kept moving, making it difficult to get any part of it in focus. It is a type of Tree Cricket, probably a Snowy Tree Cricket, but one needs to see some of the small dots and markings on the front of the antennae to know for sure which species it is. This one kept on moving and left after a few seconds, making this the only photo I was able to get.

One of my favourite groups of insects to photograph via the black light is the Leafhoppers, which are members of the True Bugs (Hemiptera). There are hundreds of kinds, and they are either small at about 5-8 mm in length, or smaller, as small as 2-3 mm!

They can be quite colourful, or not. Some are hard to identify to species, as an underside photo is required to look at features there.

Bespeckled Leafhopper, Paraphlepsius irroratus

One of my favourites is this next one, the Sharpshooter, easily identified as one of the larger ones and with a very pointed nose.

A quite colourful one is this next one, the Gyponana octolineata. It is often green, but can have some distinctive reddish lines marking the wing veins. It, like the Sharpshooter, is one of the larger species.

 One of the smaller species is this next one.

Graminella nigrifrons

This next photo shows the previous two species side by side for size comparison.

Japanese Leafhopper Orientus ishidae

Scaphoideus sp

Osbornellus sp

Lemon-banded Leafhopper Empoa venusta

Bandera sp

That is it for this instalment. Next time I will feature a variety of moths, some colourful and some not.