Hot, August Nights....

 ...are good for something other than Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show, with all due respect to Neil Diamond who wrote and sang that song back in the late '60s. Hot August nights are also great for setting up a black light and trying to photograph the myriad moths, beetles, leafhoppers, etc., that come in to check it out.

We've certainly had a steady diet of hot August nights of late. High humidity and temperatures, along with calm winds, are about ideal for moths. And many other creatures that aren't often seen during the daylight hours. Sometimes way too many of the other creatures. Mosquitoes can be numerous, but not always. It is the abundance of caddisflies, small beetles and tiny midges that can be bothersome, even to moths. Here is an example of what a sheet can look like at times.

Caddisfly Chaos

The majority of insects on this sheet are one of several types of caddisflies. There may be a small moth or two on it as well, but it is hard to tell without getting within a few centimetres of the sheet. On many occasions I've seen moths come to the sheet, but seem to be overwhelmed with the mass of other winged creatures, which are buzzing, fluttering and waving their long antennae. After fluttering for a few seconds trying to find a spot to land, the moths end up leaving altogether. Sometimes even the big moths decide to go elsewhere.

But I persevere, and hope a few moths do also.

A few nights ago I went to Moore Wildlife Area, more or less in west central Lambton County. I was by myself, as I often am. In fact other than a few times at either Rondeau or Clear Creek Forest provincial parks when one or more park staff join me, I am always on my own. There are advantages with this solitary type of field work. The night sounds are more evident, as human chatter is non-existent. And when one isn't talking, one can keep one's mouth closed, and therefore swallow fewer flying critters.

On this night, I set up my black lights in the parking lot: one sheet on the side of my vehicle, and the other 25 or so metres away hanging over a rope tied between two posts. On one occasion about a year ago, I set up my lights several hundred metres away, down by the Sydenham River, a high quality river where I was hoping to increase the diversity of moth species. However with the luxuriant vegetative growth over the path leading to the river this late in the season, it was difficult to get through with all of my equipment. Since it was so warm, starting off at about 25C and almost 100% humidity, the vegetation I would have to go through several times, would be dripping wet in short order, and then so would I. Therefore I stayed in the parking lot, which was fine.

I got all set up, and then settled down waiting for the darkness to take over, so I could maximize the effectiveness of my lights. While I was waiting, I watched 3 bats flying erratically in the twilight sky, searching for insects. Off in the distance, I heard an Eastern Screech Owl giving its quavering trill.

I put the lights on at about 8:45, and waited. The first few creatures always seem to be caddisflies, and small beetles, trying to claim the best spots on the illuminated sheet. Moths seldom come onto the sheet in the first 20 minutes or so. While I was waiting for the first moths, I noticed an orange glow off in the eastern sky. I knew a full moon was to appear, and with the cloudless sky, it arrived right on time. It started off as a large, orange disc, and I could only see parts of it shining through the trees.

I didn't take time to actually photograph the full moon on this evening. It is a photo from several months earlier.

As the evening wore on, it rose higher in the sky, got a bit smaller and whiter, but I could see it more clearly through some gaps in the trees.

The moths started to arrive, and over the next three and a half hours, I was kept fairly busy between the two sheets, checking to see what new arrivals there were, and trying my best to photograph them. I had an additional challenge, as my main camera for this type of macro photography had to be sent away for some minor repairs, so my back-up camera was put to use. It required some adjustment on my part, but overall was reasonably effective.

When all was said and done, I photographed more than 50 species of moths, as well as a dozen or more other critters. Here are some of the more striking species. You may be able to get an idea of relative size, based on the comparative size of the weave of the sheet.

Arcigera Flower Moth

Aster-head Phaneta

This next one is very tiny, with a body length of only about 5 mm. It is the Black Duckweed Moth.

One of the less common species is the Black-barred Brown, which came to the actual light, not the sheet.

Brown-collared Dart

Chickweed Geometer

Clemen's Clepsis

Not all of the moths land on the white sheet. For some reason, some take a liking to landing on my dark painted vehicle, such as this Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet. Perhaps it was because there were fewer other critters to contend with.

The sheet did have a lot of caddisflies and such. Fortunately there wasn't a recent hatch of mosquitoes, so although there were a few, they weren't so bothersome that I had to wear my long-sleeved bug shirt on this already hot and sultry night.

Derelict Eucosma

Filbertworm Moth

There are several distinctly patterned members of the Tiger-moth group. This next one is called the Harnessed Tiger-moth.

Johnson's Euchlaena

Unofficially a rare moth, with only three other records on iNaturalist in Ontario, is Patricia's Aethes, shown next.

Pepper-and-salt Geometer

Plume moths are ones that are shaped a bit like an airplane. They are often difficult to identify to the species level.

A moth that I have only photographed once before is the Raspberry Leafroller, another one that chose to land on my vehicle. It seems to be concentrated around the Great Lakes region and area according to the records on iNat.

One that is a little more widespread than the previous one, but still not very common, is the Rigid Sunflower Borer Moth,

Striped Garden Caterpillar Moth

Vagabond Crambid

Waterlily Leafcutter

I did have one of my hoped for species come to join me, but for just a few seconds. It was one of the Underwings, a large group of fairly large moths of the Catocala genus. They may appear rather drab until they open up their forewings and show off their bright pink or red and black patterned hind wings. It came in briefly and did not seem to find a spot to its satisfaction. I had my macro lens and two extension tubes on the camera at the time in order to photograph much smaller creatures, and so I couldn't have focused on it if I had tried. I quickly took the two extension tubes off, but the underwing had left and never returned. At other times, I have had them return and then remain on the sheet until it was time to pack up, but not this time. It will forever remain unidentified beyond genus.

Other critters came to join the party as well. This first one was quite small, but abundant. It is a type of Rove Beetle.

This next one doesn't have a common name that I have found yet. Its scientific name is Hygrotus nubilus.

A fairly common visitor to black lights in late summer is the Citrus Flatid Planthopper.

Another planthopper type is this Anotia kirkaldyi.

Leafhoppers are tiny, and sometimes fairly plentiful especially late in the summer. This pair shown next, with a larger view of one following, have not yet been identified to species. I am awaiting an identification from a leafhopper specialist on iNat.

This next leafhopper is known as the Sharpshooter, of the Draeculacephala genus.

A type of mayfly

Northern Flatid Planthopper

The Say's Mantidfly, shown next, was until recently considered fairly rare in Ontario. I think it is because of the increased interest in black lighting that it has shown up regularly in various places in Ontario, and is now not rare.

Treehoppers are related to leaf and plant hoppers. This one is of the Telamona genus.

Some eight-legged invertebrates show up from time to time, perhaps hoping for an easy meal. This American Nursery Web Spider spent a lot of time on the back of one sheet. I watched it several times, as it pounced on another creature, sometimes fairly small, as in this first photo....

...but sometimes grasping a relatively large item, such as this moth.

By about 12:15 a.m. I decided to wrap things up. The aforementioned Catocola underwing never returned. I am sure if I waited longer, there would have been other moths, etc., to photograph. But I was getting a little tired, and still had to pack things up and get home. I seldom get to bed before 2 or sometimes even 3 a.m. on an evening of black lighting.

It had been a very worthwhile evening. The peace and quiet overall was inspiring, shutting out the noise of the civilized (?) world and being able to concentrate on the natural environment and natural sounds. Yes, there was an occasional plane flying high overhead, speeding to some distant destination. There were only two vehicles that passed by on the road nearby over the entire time, and in spite of the strange lights of mine in the parking lot, neither vehicle even slowed down. Perhaps they never noticed.

There was a fairly steady hum of crickets communicating to each other in the vegetation all around, rubbing one body part against another, known as 'stridulation'. Most insect songs are in excess of 10,000 Hz, well above my range of hearing. But I did enjoy hearing a few katydids in the trees nearby. They were most likely the Common True Katydid (Pterophylla camellifolia). 

Just a few minutes before I left, I heard a chorus of Eastern Coyotes howling in the distance. I wondered if they were talking to one another, or another few coyotes even farther away and out of my hearing, or just howling at the big round disc getting higher and higher in the sky. 

The roads were quiet on the way home. Just as well, as the ~100% humidity was creating lots of low level fog over the roads. Another hot, August night was now well on its way towards an even hotter, August morning.

 

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