National Moth Week (July 16-25, 2021): Part 2

Monday, July 19 was another hot and humid day. The rain held off and by dusk the conditions were excellent for another night of mothing. This time I met up with Moe Bottos to explore the King's Forest area in Hamilton. 

Olethreutes viburnanum - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Moe is a fellow moth aficionado based in Essex County. Underwing moths (​Catocala) are his passion, and we were hoping to discover a nice diversity of species in King's Forest. I had never mothed this area before and was excited for what was in store. 

Hedya chionosema - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

As dusk fell, Moe painted his sugar mixture on a number of the mature trees found throughout this area. Meanwhile, I set up my two lights - the Lepiled and a blacklight - and we waited for the moths!

Wavy-lined Emerald (Synchlora aerata) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Brown Prionid Beetle (Orthosoma brunneum) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Right from the beginning, we knew that it would be in for a good showing of Catocala. The bait mixture was working as numerous moth and other insect species were taking advantage. At least four species of Idia moths were present, along with Common Fungus Moth, Armyworm Moth, American Copper Underwings (not a "true" Catocala underwing) and others. 

Copper Underwing (Amphipyra pyramidoides) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Armyworm Moth (Mythimna unipuncta) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

The first few Catocala had found the bait right away; these early arrivals all appeared to be in the blandula/crataegi/mira ​species complex. These three species, commonly referred to as Charming, Hawthorn and Wonderful Underwings, are all very similar. Some experts feel that they can not be definitely identified based on their external appearance. 

Catocala blandula/mira/crataegi - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Our suspicions were correct; it was, indeed, an excellent evening for Catocala. We totalled eight species, and probably close to 40 individuals. The most common (by far) was the blandula/crataegi/mira complex with maybe 20 individuals present. 

Catocala blandula/mira/crataegi - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Ilia Underwing was common as well. This is a very large Catocala with a red and black striped hindwing that is seen early in the season. 

Ilia Underwing (Catocala ilia) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Before I get to the rest of the Catocala, I wanted to touch on some of the action at the lights. I had set up both of my lights in a section of mature Sugar Maple-dominated forest with smaller numbers of other hardwoods. The visibility of my lights was excellent as I was on the side of a hillside. Early on, some interesting moths appeared at the sheets.

Yellow Wave (Hybroma servulella) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Pale-headed Aspen Leafroller (Anacampsis niveopulvella) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Clymene Moth (Haploa clymene) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Maple Bud Borer (Proteoteras moffatiana) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Virgin Tiger Moth (Apantesis virgo) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Longhorn beetles put in a solid showing as well. Below are a few of my favourites from the evening. 

Brown Prionid Beetle (Orthosoma brunneum) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Lepturges confluens - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Ash and Privet Borer (Tylonotus bimaculatus) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Leptostylus transversus - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

And while we are on the theme of beetles, a few others...

Oak Timberworm Weevil (Arrhenodes minutus) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Forked Fungus Beetle (Bolitotherus cornutus) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Back to Catocala. Moe had sugared quite a number of trees along a route that we walked frequently. It would take fifteen to twenty minutes to walk the route, meaning that once we were back to the start it was time to walk it again! We observed very few underwings in the Sugar Maple dominated forest; it was in the areas with higher tree diversity and along the edges where most of the Catocala were noted. Another common species was the Once-married Underwing (Catocala unijuga). This large species has an intricate light gray pattern on the forewings, along with striking red and black hindwings. 

Once-married Underwing (Catocala unijuga) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Most Once-married Underwings were photographed as they fed on the bait, though one individual also found its way to one of the sheets. 

Once-married Underwing (Catocala unijuga) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

The Ultronia Underwing is one of my favourite species of Catocala. They are highly variable, with all varieties being quite attractive. We noted four or five individuals. 

Ultronia Underwing (Catocala ultronia) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Ultronia Underwing (Catocala ultronia) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

The Yellow-banded Underwing was the last species of larger Catocala that we identified, with two individuals present. 

Yellow-banded Underwing (Catocala cerogama) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

The final two species of Catocala on the evening were the Little Lined Underwing and Woody Underwing. The former feeds on oak (Quercus), while the latter prefers apple (Malus), hawthorn (Crataegus), and cherry (Prunus). 

Little Lined Underwing (Catocala lineella) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Woody Underwing (Catocala grynea) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Moe departed sometime just after midnight as he had an early run scheduled for the following morning. As my morning plans did not include strenuous exercise at an unreasonably early hour, I decided to stay out a little bit later. I had hardly devoted much time to scrutinizing the sheets since the Catocala walking loop had taken up most of our time, and I was curious what else had come in. 

Black-lined Acleris (Acleris nigrolinea) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Black-edged Dichomeris (Dichomeris heriguronis) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

I am glad I did, since I noted several small black and white cosmet moths which I could not identify. The next day I was able to identify them as Stagmatophora wyattella, a species which ranges in the eastern half of the United States as far north as Ohio and New York. I believe that these are the first records for Ontario, with only one previous Canadian record that I can find (from southern Quebec). 

Stagmatophora wyattella - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

This tiny moth is a rather uncommon species of leafminer called Caloptilia canadensisella. Its foodplant is Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis).

Caloptilia canadensisella - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

This next species is actually a very common moth, but it is so attractive that I can't leave it out!

Chickweed Geometer (Haematopis grataria) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

And below are a few more moths that I photographed on the sheets before calling it a night. The evening had been exceptionally productive, and a huge highlight of National Moth Week for me.

Green Arches (Anaplectoides prasina) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Walnut Caterpillar Moth (Datana integerrima) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Waved Sphinx (Cerotomia undulosa) - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

Gymnandrosoma punctidiscanum - King's Forest, City of Hamilton

After four late nights in a row, I was ready to have a couple of evenings off from mothing. But by Thursday I found myself back at Sudden Tract. The habitat is so good there and the possibilities are almost endless that I just couldn't waste another night of great weather!

Broken-lined Zomaria (Zomaria interruptolineana) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Alder Leafminer (Caloptilia alnivorella) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Ponana pectoralis - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Yellow-collared Slug Moth (Apoda y-inversum) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Neoscona sp. - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

The rarest moth of the night was one that I immediately recognized. That was because I had documented this very same species a year ago at this exact location! This species is Catocala gracilis, the Graceful Underwing, and it feeds on blueberry. Apparently, Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is its preferred food-plant over much of its range, a plant that is found in the wetland complex at Sudden Tract. While this species has been seen in Ontario before (it is on the official checklist), the only two records I can find are the two that I have had at Sudden Tract. 

Graceful Underwing (Catocala gracilis) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

While not a Catocala, the bright yellow and black underwings are probably why this next species is called the Catocaline Dart.

Catocaline Dart (Cryptocala acadiensis) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

This attractive species is called the Moonseed Moth. As its name implies, it feeds on a vine called Moonseed (Menispermum canadense). 

Moonseed Moth (Plusiodonta compressipalpis) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

You know I have to include at least one longhorn beetle from Sudden Tract. The Pole Borer doesn't really look like a longhorn beetle, considering its horns are rather short!

Pole Borer (Neandra brunnea) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Leafhoppers can have some pretty wild colours and patterns. It just so happens that most species are quite tiny, causing their beauty to fly under the radar for most people. 

Scaphoideus sp. - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

I am not 100% positive, but I am pretty sure that this next grass-veneer is Neodactria caliginosellus, the Black Grass-Veneer. This species is rarely reported from Ontario. 

Black Grass-Veneer (Neodactria caliginosellus) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Apart from the above Black Grass-veneer, the other "lifer" moth for me this evening was this next one; an olethreutine moth called Paralobesia spiraefoliana. There are very few photos of this species online - for instance, there is only one other record of the species on iNaturalist, and only a few specimens on Bugguide - but it is listed for the Ontario checklist. I assume from its latin name that the caterpillars of this species feed on Meadowsweet (Spiraea).

With a lot of these micro-moths, identifications are best confirmed by dissecting and analyzing the genitalia. As I haven't been collecting moths and I am just taking photos, perhaps the identify of this species and several others in the post should be noted as tentative. While the forewing patterns appear to line up perfectly, there is a chance that the ID is wrong, or that an undescribed species is involved. 

Paralobesia spiraeifoliana - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

The following species is one of my favourite moths - the Eyed Paectes. Its "eyes" kind of remind me of Kaa's hypnotic eyes from Disney's version of Jungle Book.

Eyed Paectes (Paectes oculatrix) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

And a few more photos of the night's haul at Sudden Tract...

Maple Callus Borer (Synanthedon acerni) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Yellow-spotted Renia (Renia flavipunctalis) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Stilbosis tesquella - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Pale Lichen Moth (Crambidia pallida) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

By the end of the evening, I was sitting at approximately 310 species for National Moth Week with a few days still remaining. The next (and final) instalment in this series will include mothing adventures at St. William's forest in Norfolk County, followed by another night at Sudden Tract.