Night Life at Rondeau

The nights are getting longer, but as the season winds closer to winter, the relative night life of nature is probably more subdued these days compared to mid-summer. 

It has been awhile since I have featured anything to do with moths, particularly of those I have 'shot' at Rondeau. That is partly because I am so far behind in getting all the photos processed and labelled, and there are many other things to feature. But I got out quite a few times over the peak of the season, and sometimes was out well into the early morning hours. It was a treat to occasionally see various stages of the moon over Rondeau Bay as I was leaving the park. This one was very close to the horizon, with a bit of reflection over the still water. I hadn't planned on moon photography so just grabbed a couple of quick photos with the camera equipment that I had close at hand, before it dropped out of sight.

We, meaning park staff member Kevin and I, have been doing a lot of black lighting at both Rondeau and Clear Creek Forest Provincial Parks. We are now comfortably over 600 species for Rondeau and almost 400 species for Clear Creek.

Many moths are fairly small and obscure by normal human standards of appreciation, yet those are just as important in the overall scheme of things as are the large and colourful species. In this post, I am highlighting some of the fresher and colourful looking ones I photographed at Rondeau in July. Regular readers may recognize some of them. That's okay, and because there are over 3000 species in Ontario alone, I find a certain amount of repetition makes it easier to identify them when I encounter them.

Abbreviated Button Slug

American Idia

Banded Tussock Moth

Basswood Leafroller

This next one can vary quite a bit, as some individuals are much brighter than others, so when I come across a well-marked one, I automatically try and get a good photo.

Bicolored Pyrausta

While this next one is normally quite a distinct yellow, as its name implies, this one has the yellow aspect of it quite faded, even though the other darker markings seem to be normal.

Black-borderd Lemon

Blackberry Looper

A very tiny one is next, and was difficult to photograph. It totals a mere 6 mm in length. Fortunately the markings are fairly distinctive.

Bronze Alder Moth

Cattail Borer Moth

This next one can be fairly abundant, especially since there is lots of wetland habitat at Rondeau. On occasion I will see half a dozen or more on the sheet.

Chestnut-marked Pondweed Moth

Quite a bright one compared to many is this next one, a member of the Crocus Geometer Complex. Some moth species, such as this, are difficult to identify to the species level by a photograph alone, and must be dissected.

Darker Diacme Moth

Some species names seem to have no information about what they are important for or connected to, while others, such as this next one, are more helpful.

Deadwood Borer Moth

Given that there are many, many individuals of the non-native honeysuckle shrubbery at Rondeau, it comes as no surprise to have seen this next one.

European Honeysuckle Moth

The Faint-spotted Palthis, next, is considered rather rare in Ontario, although I seem to find it at many places I have set up my lights.

Fragile White Carpet

The Grape Berry Moth, next, is another small one measuring about 6 mm.

Isabella Tiger Moth

Another tiny, but well marked moth is this next one, the aptly named Orange-headed Epicallima moth. It, too, is only about 6 mm in total length.

I always find the Plume moths interesting to look at, although they aren't the easiest ones to identify. However this next one is the Rose Plume Moth, and not one I see very often so I was glad to get a photo of it.

Always a highlight is one of the silkworm moth group, such as this vividly coloured Rosy Maple Moth.

Shagreened Slug Moth

Skiff Moth

Another small, but distinctly marked one is this black and white spotted Spindle Ermine Moth, which I have only photographed once.

Another one that I have only photographed on one other occasion is this Herald Moth. I have no idea what the common name relates to.....

The Saw-wing

This next one, the White-dotted Prominent, is named for the two small white dots on its wing.

The members of the slug moth group normally have a distinctive shape, and this Yellow-shouldered Slug Moth is no exception.

There are often a few non-moth invertebrates that show up on the sheet, including the following:

A type of Braconid Wasp

This large Grapevine Beetle made quite a thump when it landed on the sheet.

Much smaller is this Horned Fungus Beetle.....

......and tinier yet are a few leafhoppers, such as this black-and-green striped leafhopper that, as far as I know, does not have a common name, which is a bit surprising. It's scientific name is Tylozygus bifidus.

Last but not least is this Say's Mantidfly, formerly considered a rare species in Ontario but is becoming more frequently documented coming to black lights. It is not considered rare any more.

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