National Moth Week 2024 Recap from Kansas City

We are in the Greater Kansas City Metro area, anyway, here in Leavenworth, Kansas. National Moth Week ran from July 20-28 this year, which was helpful because the weather was unstable and somewhat volatile, and we were traveling during the end of that time span. Our results were mixed, but they did include some new species for our property.

Chickweed Geometer Moth, Haematopis grataria, is a pretty dependable species for National Moth Week.

This part of the United States has received more rain this year than in the previous three that we have experienced. Oddly, this seems to have driven insect diversity and abundance down. Our plants are doing well. I had no idea that violets could grow that tall and that dense, for example. The goldenrod may be taller than I am by the time it blooms.

Green Cloverworm Moth, Hypena scabra, is common here most of the summer.

Black-bordered Lemon Moth, Marimatha nigrofimbria, has been a "regular" in our yard this year.

I walked our yard in the daytime on the afternoon of July 21, and flushed the above three moth species from our “lawn.”

Clemens' Grass Tubeworm Moth, Acrolophus popeanella.

That night I switched on the light for our covered side porch, which is only about five feet from the neighbor’s house, but only managed to attract a couple of grass tubeworm moths. Returning to the front entrance, I discovered what I believe to be an adult Variegated Cutworm lodged on the inside of the screen door.

Variegated Cutworm Moth, Peridroma saucia, I think.

Ironically, an unidentified tortricid moth appeared on the side porch screen door during the day on July 25.

Unidentified tortricid moth.

On July 26 I hiked over to Havens Park, one of the few forested places in town, in hopes of flushing some underwing moths, as I have had fair luck in the past. Lo and behold, I did get one, an Epione Underwing, Catocala epione, that stuck around just long enough for me to get a couple of images. Breaking through countless spider webs strung across the trail was worth it after all.

Epione Underwing, Catocala epione.

I set up our entolight blacklight twice, once in the back yard on the night of July 23, and again in the front yard on July 26. The difference in the species between the two locations is rather surprising. Frankly, given that the federal prison, lit up like Las Vegas every night, is less than two blocks away, I am mystified as to how we attract anything.

Maple Looper Moth, Parallelia bistriaris.

The back yard yielded a few moths, mostly small and common species, but also delivered a couple of lovely, larger moths. When blacklighting, it helps to remember to look on foliage, tree trunks, fence posts, and other surfaces just beyond the reach of the illumination of your lights. Many moth species are “too shy” to come directly to the sheet.

Banded tussock moth, Halysidota sp., found in the shadows just beyond the reach of the light.

The front yard, like the back yard, had few moths at the light until about eleven PM. Naturally, every time I decided I should turn out the light for the night, something new would show up. I think I eventually went to bed around one AM. Thankfully, the neighbors tolerate our “hobby.”

Spotted Peppergrass Moth, Eustixia pupula.

Among the novel finds in the front yard was one of the crocus geometer moths in the genus Xanthotype. They cannot be identified to species from photos, so we will settle for genus.

Crocus geometer moth, Xanthotype sp.

Another interesting moth was a Yellow-collared Slug Moth, Apoda y-inversum. Their helmet-shaped caterpillars apparently feed only on the leaves of hickory trees.

Yellow-collared Slug Moth, Apoda y-inversum.

All of my moth observations for the week can be found here on iNaturalist.

Packard's Wave, Cyclophora packardi, and a pygmy leafmining moth, Stigmella sp., immediately below it.

Next year I will try and schedule public events, as we did last year on Fort Leavenworth, for both a variety of habitat, and as a way to introduce others to the magic of moths. I hope all of you were able to enjoy this year’s edition of National Moth Week wherever it found you.

Zeller's Macalla, Macalla zelleri, a type of pyralid moth. Wish we had more, as their caterpillars feed on Poison Ivy.

First Night of Blacklighting

Since I posted about my last night of blacklighting last year, it seems only fitting that I post about the first night of blacklighting this year. We had an unseasonably warm and humid night on March 31, 2024, so I put up a sheet and light in our fenced-in back yard here in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. The effort turned up a handful of nice moths, and a couple of surprises.

Birch Dagger moth

A lovely and surprising moth was a freshly-minted Birch Dagger moth, Acronicta betulae. It looked like the front wings were made of two layers. Striking! This is a widespread eastern U.S. species, but eastern Kansas is at the western fringe of its range. We also do not have any River Birch, the host tree for the caterpillar, to my knowledge, so perhaps it is feeding on a different tree here.

Intractable Quaker moth

Another kind of owlet moth in the family Noctuidae that showed up was the Intractable Quaker. Ok, who makes up these names? The caterpillar of this moth is more straightforward: Four-lined Green Fruitworm. The scientific name of the species is Kocakina fidelis, but known formerly as Himella fidelis. This is another early-appearing eastern North American moth. The caterpillar stage feeds mostly on the leaves of oak, elm, and flowering crabapple, but is also known from hickory and cherry.

Distinct Quaker moth

The final noctuid of the night was the Distinct Quaker, Achatia distincta. It is a spring species ranging mostly east of the Great Plains, but with scattered records farther west. The caterpillar is a generalist feeder on most common deciduous trees, plus grape.

An expected species was an owlet moth in the family Erebidae, the Forage Looper, Caenurgina erechtea. It is abundant here locally, but is common throughout the U.S. and Canada. Caterpillars feed on grasses, clover, and alfalfa. Walking through your lawn will flush these moths during the day, especially if it has beeen awhile since you mowed.

Common Gray moth(?) male

One geometer moth was tucked in a fold in the sheet: what I believe to be a Common Gray, Anavitrinella pampinaria. The lack of clear markings makes identification even more difficult than usual, but the early spring flight period is typical. This is another widespread species across the continent. The super-slender caterpillars (inchworms) are known to feed on clover, ash, elm, willow, pear, and apple.

Lucerne Moth

One moth of the family Crambidae flew to the edge of the sheet. The Lucerne Moth, Nomophila nearctica, is found nearly everywhere in North America, farther north in the west. Its narrow silhouette makes this moth one of the easiest to recognize. The caterpillars feed on a wide variety of grasses and sprawlilng legumes like clover and alfalfa.

Smaller moths were more common, including a single individual of the Red-banded Leafroller Moth, Argyrotaenia velutinana. This species of the family Tortricidae is common east of the Rocky Mountains, from Louisiana to Saskatchewan. There is hardly any foliage and fruit that is not on the menu for the caterpillar stage, and it is an occasional pest in apple orchards.

Unidentified tortricid moth

Maple Twig Borer Moth

A couple of other tortricids defy identification, and I am rusty at photography after the winter hiatus. Wait, one of them was confirmed as the Maple Twig Borer Moth, Proteoteras aesculana. As the name suggests, it occurs where maple trees are found, and the caterpillar stage tunnels in the twigs and petioles, and seeds of the host tree.

Twirler moth, genus Chinodes?

Finally, there was a solitary little twirler moth, family Gelechiidae, that I figure is one of the 190 North American species of Chinodes.

Ichneumon wasp, Ophion sp.

A bit surprising was the diversity of wasps present at the blacklight. Ichneumonid wasps in the genus Ophion are regular visitors, as they are nocturnal, but a beautiful Rhyssella nitida also showed up.

Ichneumon wasp, Rhyssella nitida

This is a diurnal insect. The female uses her long ovipositor to drill into logs and dead trees to reach the larva of its host, wood-wasps in the genus Xiphydria. She lays a single egg on the grub, and the larva that hatches feeds as an external parasitoid, eventually killing the wood-wasp larva.

Braconid wasp

Braconid wasp, Phanerotoma sp?

Braconid wasp

Wasps in the family Braconidae, closely related to ichneumons, also flew in. They are almost impossible to identify from images of living specimens, but their diversity and abundance is encouraging in an age of insect decline.

A particularly attractive non-biting midge, tribe Macropelopiini

Typical non-biting midge, tribe Chironomini

As expected, flies were the most diverse insects on the sheet. Non-biting midges in the family Chironomidae can be found almost year round. They are usually asssumed to be mosquitoes, and they are certainly mosquito-like in appearance, but totally harmless. Most live in aquatic habitats in the larval stage, where they are usually scavengers.

One of the larger gall midges I've seen

Early spring is the time for gall midges in the family Cecidomyiidae. These small, delicate flies are recognized in part by the reduced number of veins in their wings, and their usually long antennae. They are tiny enough that they can account for the most commonly found insects indoors, accumulating in light fixtures and on windowsills.

Fungus gnat

Fungus gnats are also springtime flies, of the family Mycetophilidae. They look like mosquitoes, too, but their legs usually sport long spines, at least at the tip of the tibia segment. The larvae of many species occur in mushrooms, and are identified by their black heads. The adults of some species pollinate the flowers of Jack-in-the-Pulpit, but frequently die after becoming trapped in the corolla.

Leaf miner fly, Cerodontha sp.

More obviously fly-like were little leaf miner flies, in the genus Cerodontha, family Agromyzidae. Their larvae bore between the layers of grassblades, and leaves of sedges and rushes. We have both grasses and sedges in our back yard, so that tracks. Identifying insects is often a matter of putting different clues together and seeing what shakes out.

Shiny Blue Blow Fly, Cynomya cadaverina

A big, bumbling blow fly bounced around the light, too, and it was difficult to get an image of it. I think it was a Cynomya cadaverina. No dead bodies in the backyard, so its presence is a mystery.

Birch Catkin Bug

The other mystery was the appearance of a Birch Catkin Bug, Kleidocerys resedae, a tiny member of the seed bug family Lygaeidae. As in the case of the Birch Dagger Moth, the absence of birch trees raises questions about what these bugs are eating.

All thirty insects that I documented can be found on iNaturalist here. It has been windy and cooler this last week, so I'm not sure when I'll put the light out again, but I look forward to doing so. Weather permitting, I will at least try again during the City Nature Challenge, April 26-29. Check and see if your town is registered for the event. Happy bugwatching to you in any event.

Last Night to Blacklight?

A green mantisfly (left) and a leafhopper parade across the top of the sheet behind our blacklight at night.

Back on October 23, 2023, we had an abnormally warm day of 86℉. I took advantage of this to put out a blacklight, in front of a white sheet, on our back yard fence that night. Because of insect decline, and the role of light pollution in driving down the survival and reproductive rates of insects, I try and blacklight less frequently these days. Never mind that the federal penitentiary, located two blocks behind our house, is lit up like Las Vegas every night. I consider it something of a miracle that we are able to draw any insects to our dim illumination devices, but we get a surprising diversity. This night was no different, despite being so deep into autumn.

Japanese Maple Leafhopper

One wonderful aspect of putting out a blacklight at this time of year is that we are not inundated with huge numbers of caddisflies, as we often are, especially in late spring. Instead, fall is the season of true bugs (order Hemiptera), lacewings and their allies (Neuroptera), flies (Diptera), select late-season moths (Lepidoptera), and a few beetles (Coleoptera).

Trumpet Vine Moth

Indeed, during daylight hours in late October, the air is positively thick with aphids and tiny leafhoppers, and buzzing with the drone of larger bugs like stink bugs and leaf-footed bugs. Many of these true bugs overwinter as adults, and are seeking places to shelter through the cold months. Some species of aphids move to alternate hosts for the winter, and so have winged individuals for dispersal to those plants. It has been windy, though, and even wingless aphids have been blown everywhere. Our fence is crawling with them, even as I write this on November fourth.

Mirid plant bug, Hyaliodes sp.

Leafhoppers are among the most speciose of insects in our yard, as both resident insects and "fly-by" individuals for which we have no host plants to support them. Most of that diversity occurs under five millimeters in body length. A two- or three-millimeter leafhopper can still be surprisingly colorful, though.

Leafhopper, Erythridula sp.

Leafhopper, Norvellina helenae

Leafhopper, Gyponana sp.

Leafhopper, Gyponana gladia?

Red-banded Leafhopper, Graphocephala coccinea

Planthoppers representing several families were also present at our light, some a little bit worn.

Delphacid planthopper, Liburniella ornata

Northern Flatid Planthopper, Flatormenis proxima

Derbit planthopper, Otiocerus stolli

We had three different species of mantidflies, also known as mantispids, at the lights. They are predatory and readily stalk smaller insects drawn to our light source. Their more familiar kin, green lacewings and brown lacewings, were present, too. Green lacewings are frequently brown, or reddish, at this time of year, and also overwinter in the adult stage.

Mantidfly, Dicromantispa interrupta

Green Mantidfly, Zeugomantispa minuta

Mantidfly, Dicromantispa sayi

Green lacewing, Chrysoperla sp.

Flies are ever-present, with blow flies spending the winter as adults hidden under the siding of your house, and in other snug cavities. Syrphid flies were still visiting the aster flowers in our neighborhood during the day. What came to the light, however, were long-legged flies, tachinid flies, and pomace flies.

Marsh fly, Dictya sp.

Unidentified tachinid fly

Unidentified long-legged fly

Black scavenger fly, Sepsis sp.

Mating pair of leafminer flies, family Agromyzidae

Moths are what entomologists typically deploy blaclights for, and of course there were some of those, too. Some species appear only during the fall, and/or the winter, so it pays to keep the blacklights handy for the odd warm evenings. Owlet moths, geometer moths, and grass veneers are among the usual suspects, but look for much smaller moths, too.

Green Cutworm Moth, Anicla infecta

Ailanthus Webworm Moth, Atteva aurea

Corn Earworm Moth, Helicoverpa zea

Ipsilon Dart, Agrotis ipsilon

Juniper-twig Geometer, Patalene olyzonaria, I believe.

Grateful Midget, Elaphria grata

Oh, I almost forgot about barklice (order Psocodea). Three species showed up on October twenty-third, probably representing three different families. Barklice are easily mistaken for planthoppers, or even tiny moths, but they have chewing mouthparts instead of a beak or a proboscis.

Common barklouse, Indiopsocus sp.

Narrow barklouse, Graphopsocus cruciatus

Common barklouse, Trichadenotecnum alexanderae species complex

Beetles that showed up included several species of ground beetles (Carabidae), small dung beetles (Scarabaeidae), and lady beetles (Coccinellidae), along with representatives of less familiar families.

Vivid metallic grouond beetle, Chlaenius tricolor

Colorful foliage ground beetle, Lebia vittata

20-spotted Lady Beetle, Psyllobora vigintimaculata

Antlike flower beetle, Notoxus sp.

Silken fungus beetle, family Cryptophagidae.

More warm days are in the forecast for next week, so I may at least flip the front porch light on and check for insect guests. Even the vague warmth of the blacklight results in substantial carnage, with smaller, frail insects perishing from the heat, so that is another reason to use the apparatus sparingly. It is still a great tool, however, for evaluating insect variety and density. More on light pollution to come, in a later post.

Aphid, Drepanaphis sp.

Note: Here is the link to all of the arthropods observed on this date on iNaturalist.