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.

City Nature Challenge 2024 Recap

The April 26-29 weather forecast for the Greater Kansas City metro area was not promising, so I had low expectations of finding subjects to document for the 2024 City Nature Challenge occuring during that time. We were also going to be out of town for one of those days, further limiting opportunities for making observations. While it was mostly overcast with some periods of rain, it wasn't a complete washout by any means.

One of the best finds was an Orangeback syrphid fly, Pterallastes thoracicus, at Weston Bend State Park, Missouri.

I am fortunate to have the relative luxury of self-employment, able to take time to fully engage with events like City Nature Challenge. Not everyone has that privilege, so I want to thank everyone who made time to participate in this global event. Each year we collectively accrue more data for scientists to gauge trends in biodiversity and abundance, and take action accordingly to protect, conserve, and attract other species to our urban islands.

The diversity of ichneumon wasps alone at our house was amazing. This is a female Limonethe maurator.

A spectacular female Rhysella humida

Wow, a big female Dolichomitus irritator.

A very small Cymodusa distincta.

Friday, April 26, was spent looking for organisms around our home in Leavenworth, Kansas, a municipality included in the Kansas City project on iNaturalist. Well, the entire county is included, which means there is potential for rural observations. I like that the project encourages participation by inviting outlying commuinities, so the tradoff is worth it.

Triangulate Combfoot spider, Steatoda triangulosa.

Brown Recluse, Loxosceles reclusa.

I always make sure to look in our detached garage for spiders and other arthropods, and the cooler, cloudy weather in the morning meant there was not much to see in the yard. I did document birds, squirrels, and plants, too. In the garage I uncovered the obligatory Brown Recluse, Loxosceles reclusa, plus two cobweb weavers (Theridiidae) and a cellar spider (Pholcidae).

Cuckoo wasp, tribe Chrysidini.

Marbled Fungus Weevil, Euparius marmoreus.

Ribbed cocoon-maker moth, Bucculatrix sp.

Privet Leafhopper, Fieberiella florii.

Aw-w-w, a pseudoscorpion!

Outdoors, I discovered more spiders, mostly on the exterior of our house, plus a few flies, beetles, ants, true bugs, moths, and several wasps. The sun even came out for a sliver of time in the afternoon, but I was pleasantly surprised by what was on the wing the rest of the day.

The late afternoon, and the following day (Saturday) found us in another county for an annual spring field trip of professional herpetologists and amateur reptile and amphibian enthusiasts.Sunday, April 28, was spent at home again, and was the least productive day of observations.

Zebra Swallowtail with just a little pollen.

We like to explore the Leavenworth Landing Park, and Weston Bend State Park across the river in Platte County, Missouri at some point during the City Nature Challenge, and we did so on Monday, April 29. The weather was much better, sunny and warm. The most obvious insects were butterflies. Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), and Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus), were exceptionally abundant, but we saw other Lepidoptera, too. Bees, flies, and dragonflies were also common, and reasonably diverse.

Blue-green Bottle Fly, Lucillia coeruleiviridis.

A pollen-dusted female mason bee, Osmia sp.

Orchard Spider, Leucauge venusta.

Tachinid fly, Epalpus signifer.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail male, Papilio glaucus.

I took advantage of the continuing favorable weather and put out a blacklight and sheet in our front yard Monday night. More moth, beetle, and fly species were attracted. I also prowled around the yard and found a couple other insects lurking in the darkness.

Four-spotted Angle moth, Trigrammia quadrinotaria.

Square-gill mayfly, Caenis sp.

Dance fly, Rhamphomyia nasoni.

"Major" and "minor" workers of the Chestnut Carpenter Ant, Camponotus castaneus.

Large Yellow Underwing moth, Noctua pronuba.

Fungus gnat, family Mycetophilidae.

Statistically, I finished with 374 observations of insects and arachnids, totalling 238 "species," thanks to the help of 90 individuals offering or confirming identifications. I am still unclear as to what qualifies as a species on iNaturalist. I think it considers any unique taxon as a species when it creates the stats. In any event, identifications are a work in progress, so it may be years before a more refined assessment is made.

Grape Berry Moth, Paralobesia viteana.

I am already looking forward to next year's City Nature Challenge. It may be my favorite "holiday," in fact, a celebration of the other species that share the planet with us. The human race could profit by having more such occasions for observing other organisms. It is a good reminder of our obligations of stewardship to the Earth.

Rust fly, Loxocera fumipennis.

A New Book is in the Pipeline

Apologies for being away for so long, but at least I have a decent excuse. I have been at work on a new book, and only yesterday submitted the manuscript, and associated images and captions, to the publisher. This does not represent the end of the process. I still must respond to critiques from reviewers, evaluate proofs once the design team generates them, and create an index. I also need to get paperwork to friends and colleagues who supplied images, so they can be properly credited and compensated.

I got a professional headshot for the book.

What will the book be about? It will be something of a "field guide companion," with techniques for observing insects in the field. It is also an attempt to generate the same enthusiasm for "bugwatching" that birding currently enjoys. Lastly, I wanted to address diversity, inclusion, and accessibility for demographic categories that are all too often ignored, or actively excluded, from natural history recreation in general. Bugwatching is for everyone, or should be.

I had the privilege of working with a wonderful artist, Samantha Gallagher, who created the most amazing illustrations to complement the photos. Authors do not always get to choose artists, so I was very grateful for that opportunity, and delighted when Sam agreed to do it.

Now that the bulk of work is behind me, I can turn more attention back to my blogs. I hope to get you all caught up on the outcome of the 2024 City Nature Challenge here in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area in the U.S., the results of another prairie bioblitz in Missouri, tell more life cycle stories, and ask whether periodical cicadas are potentially threatened or endangered species, among other topics. I am almost two years behind in editing photos and posting them to iNaturalist, which is usually my first order of business.

Heidi got us both new iPhones, and I like the camera feature so much! Dogbane Beetle, Chrysochus auratus.

Thank you for staying with me through these periods when you hear only "crickets" coming from this website. You are much appreciated. I promise that the next entry here will not be another "proof of life" post.

Book Review: Insectorama

One of the benefits of having written one or more books is that as an author you are then presented with opportunities to review proposals, manuscripts, and published books by other writers in your realm of expertise. The most recent book to cross my desk in this way is Insectorama: The Marvelous World of Insects, by Lisa Voisard. I could not be more favorably impressed.

Insectorama is promoted as a juvenile literature, and it won the JP Redouté Children’s Book Prize. It is a substantial work of 224 pages, suitable for adults, too. It is as close to a perfect introduction to insects, and their place in habitats, ecosystems, and human enterprise and culture, as I can imagine. The “North American edition” is what I received, a translation from the original French version featuring a European focus. The book is divided into three parts, beginning with a series of portraits of over eighty common insect species found in North America. The second part invites the reader to “Go on, take a closer look!” The third section presents several topics related to the life of insects, their enemies, why insects are disappearing, and how we can mitigate insect decline.

Voisard’s unique and stunning illustrations define the entire work. The renderings are bold and deceptively basic, without sacrificing much in the way of accuracy and detail. Food plants, prey, life cycles, and other context are presented, along with icons for the order the insect is classified under, the time of day the creature is active, and the habitat it occupies.

The only obvious mistake that I found was that the pupa stage, in every species depicted that has complete metamorphosis, was labeled as “nymph.” I suspect this is an error in translation from the French, not a fact-checking oversight. Entomologist Mathilde Gaudrea vetted the text, in fact, along with other experts.

The layout of the book remains its greatest strength. Every page, or every other page, is a different earthtone color, warm and inviting. The contrast with the insect depicted is therefore not stark and overwhelming. You are invited into the life of the creature, the flowers it visits, the aquatic realm it lives in, or the place it perches.

My admiration for this work extends to the marketing campaign surrounding it. I learned of the book from Izzy Krause at Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC, working for its client, Helvetiq Publishing, that produced this North American version. The blurb sheet was well done summary of the book and its mission to stimulate readers to view insects in a new and fascinating light.

By sheer coincidence, I am at work on a book that aims to achieve similar outcomes in recruiting new “bugwatchers,” and Insectorama helped me greatly by reminding me of approaches to observing insects that I have long since forgotten because they have become habit. I therefore recommend this book to science translators (science communicators, sci-comm people) as a good refresher when interacting with the public.

With so much sensationalized news, and misinformation about insects in this day and age, it is a delight to find a vehicle with a more subdued approach, that still manages to evoke fascination and excitement, wrapped in a little empathy for the tentative and squeamish among us. I hope it is a blueprint for future authors of natural history books.

Insectorama retails for under $30.00 U.S. It is hardbound, and weighty. I am also likely to consider other merchandise from Lisa Voisard.