I’m finding it somewhat laborious to sort moths. The part I enjoy most is actually looking at what has visited my light during the night when I get up early in the morning. The aggravation comes with our very SLOW internet speed. Definitely do NOT expect great internet if you’re considering moving to San Juan Island. It’s been awful for the almost-fourteen years I’ve lived here and one time it was out altogether for almost 3 weeks!
I finally finished labeling all of my photos and have them uploaded. If my count is right, I have about 20 different species today, but as I mentioned in my earlier post, I won’t necessarily have all of them identified to species. Some I’ve only been able to ID to tribe or subfamily, others to genus, but a few were easy enough to manage a species ID for. If anyone finds a mistake, kindly point it out and I will make the necessary corrections. There were lots of micro moths this morning and those are tough for me. But they are fascinating. Some look like bird poop. You’d never see them, they are disguised so well in nature.
If you’re interested in participating in National Moth Week, it’s not too late. Check out their website here – https://nationalmothweek.org
Today (June 22) marks the start of National Moth Week, 2023. For anyone interested in participating or learning more about how to “MOTH,” check out the National Moth Week website here: https://nationalmothweek.org.
I’ll be brief, but start by introducing myself. I’m Cynthia (Brast-Bormann) and I am an entomologist who lives on San Juan Island. My “work” is on a volunteer basis. Because of my love for insects, spiders, and the natural world, I endeavor to share my enthusiasm and knowledge with our community and anyone else who would like to know more about these charismatic critters that are all too often targeted for eating leaves, buzzing, sometimes biting or stinging, but mostly for merely existing. We stop short of recognizing they are food for other organisms, work to control pest populations (without noxious chemicals), and they help us to have food (pollination). Without insects and spiders, we would be in a deep heap of doo! Pardon my French.
Each day of National Moth Week – which runs through July 30, 2023, I will be posting a gallery of what shows up at my light trap each night, hopefully with an ID along with the photos I post. Please feel free to let me know if you see something misidentified. 🙂
If you’re interested in Mothing, or learning more about other bugs, you may contact me with questions via email or join the Facebook Group, Bugs of the San Juan Islands at https://www.facebook.com/groups/3594158544144419
California Pyrausta Moth (Pyrausta californicalis)Western Panthea Moth (Panthea virginarius)Small Magpie (Anania hortulata)(Arta epicoenalis), a Pyralid mothGenus Eppirhoe Western Conifer Looper (Caripeta aequaliaria)Diamondback Moth (Plutella xylostella)Tribe Archipini – TortricidaeGray Scoopwing (Callizzia amorata)Choristoneura mothStamnoctenis pearsalli, a Carpet Moth (I think)Stamnoctenis pearsalli, a Carpet Moth (I think)Stamnoctenis pearsalli, a Carpet Moth (I think)Stamnoctenis pearsalli, a Carpet Moth (I think)Stamnoctenis pearsalli, a Carpet Moth (I think)Stamnoctenis pearsalli, a Carpet Moth (I think)Stamnoctenis pearsalli, a Carpet Moth (I think)Stamnoctenis pearsalli, a Carpet Moth (I think)Stamnoctenis pearsalli, a Carpet Moth (I think)Horned Spanworm Moth (Nematocampa resistaria)Unknown Noctuid moth
Tried to post last night, but our internet speed is TERRIBLE. Gotta love that about living on San Juan. It’s always been slow. Once upon a time, we lost internet for more than 2 weeks. 🤦♀️
I’m behind in sorting out all my bug bucket visitors and yesterday was a setback. Our well lost pressure. That’s a disaster in mid summer when all I could think of was how I’d have to watch my beautiful flowers wither away in the searing sun and die.
Someone trying to be helpful made a suggestion about how I could do laundry at the laundry mat in town. Personally, given the toxic fragrances in laundry products like Bounce, Gain, and Tide, I’d rather wash my underwear out in the murky pond on our property. If you use these products, you might consider switching to something less noxious. Also, I highly recommend reading some of Ann Steinemann’s research on chemicals in household products. You can link to her work here https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/anne.steinemann/
Really, the last thing I was worried about was laundry! It’s BUG season. I’m certain I have enough clothes to last 3 weeks and you can always clean up with baby wipes and my momma taught me you can wear your underwear inside out if you are in a pickle and can’t wash them! 😉 Thankfully, our issue was just a burned out capacitor and we have water! Grateful for the help from our former homeowners and our local island well service Mauldin’s Well Service. I’ll catch up with everything else eventually.
For now, here’s a cute moth I found in the bucket Thursday evening. I believe it’s a species of Erebidae moth, Dasychira grisefacta. To me, it looks like a wee little grumpy bat. 🦇
We are getting closer to National Moth Week 2023 (July 22-30). I am continuing my head start. If you’ve been following along, you’ll see I am posting a daily gallery of what I’ve collected in my bug bucket with UVB light each night when I check the next morning.
It took me a good while today to sit down and try to work out ID’s for my specimens. ALL specimens found in the bucket are handled with gentle care and safely released back into cryptic hiding spots to better avoid predation by birds, yellow jackets, and other predaceous insects. Probably add in spiders, though I have not seen many in this dry spell of weather we are having. I did have an unexpected guest show up in the bucket this morning. A frog. Yes, if you set the buffet up, the dinner guests will inevitably find it. 🐸
I’ll add the link to the National Moth Week website here https://nationalmothweek.org and if you are interested in participating and can’t figure out what you need to do or need advice on how to MOTH, feel free to reach out. Check out the gallery below and thanks for stopping by!
Gallery
Bug Bucket Bug BucketBug Bucket with Egg Cartons for th moths to hide inside Northern Pacific Tree Frog (Pseudacis regilla)Pyrausta perrubralisNorthwestern Phoenix Moth (Eulithis xylina)Western Avocado Leafroller Moth (Amorbia cuneanum)Western Conifer Looper (Caripeta aequaliaria)Grass Moth Genus ScopariaDiplotaxis sp. Scarab BeetleSubfamily EnnominaeNorthern Pacific Tree Frog (Pseudacis regilla)Packards Girdle Moth (Sabulodes packardata)Northwestern Phoenix Moth (Eulithis xylina)Packards Girdle Moth (Sabulodes packardata)Packards Girdle Moth (Sabulodes packardata)Zigzag Furcula Moth (Furcula scolopendrina)Packards Girdle Moth (Sabulodes packardata)Iridopsis emasculatum I believeZigzag Furcula Moth (Furcula scolopendrina)Agrotis sp. , Family NoctuidaeAgrotis sp. , Family NoctuidaeStamnoctenis sp. , Family GeometridaeAgrotis sp. Stamnoctenis sp. GeometridaeWestern Tent Moth (Malacosoma californicum) left, and Virginia Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica) rightPale Marked Angle (Macaria signaria)Unknown, but cute!Simple Wave (Scopula junctaria)EnnonominaeGenus IridopsisTribe BoarmiiniKnot Horn Moth (Subfamily Phycitinae) – family PyralidaeUnknown, but check out the reflection in the image.Little White Lichen Moth (Clemensia albata)Erebidae, and Dasychira grisefacta, I believe. Erebidae, and Dasychira grisefacta, I believe. Erebidae, and Dasychira grisefacta, I believe. Erebidae, and Dasychira grisefacta, I believe. Erebidae, and Dasychira grisefacta, I believe. Erebidae, and Dasychira grisefacta, I believe. Erebidae, and Dasychira grisefacta, I believe.
I believe this is Dasychira griefacta . It takes off somewhat awkwardly but made it up into a tall fir tree.
Continuing on to another morning’s findings (07.13.2023), I am extremely happy with how adding the egg cartons to my bug bucket are improving my moth collecting. Side note here – I am only collecting photos and these critters are handled with gentle care and released to places where they are able to hide from predators during the day. I even go so far as to color match their hidey spots. 😉
Photos of the specimens found are in the gallery below along with some pics of my set up. National Moth Week is July 22-30, so if you are interested in participating, please check out the link here https://nationalmothweek.org, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions. You can send me an email or find me on Facebook (Bugs of the San Juan Islands) at https://www.facebook.com/groups/3594158544144419 .
Thanks for reading!
Gallery
Bug Bucket with UVB light on topBug Bucket with egg cartons inside for moths to have hiding spotsWestern Avocado Leafroller Moth I believe, (Amorbia cuneanum)Unknown Geometrid moth (Subfamily Ennominae)I think this one is the Double Striped Scoparia Moth (Scoparia biplagialis)Western Avocado Leafroller Moth I believe, (Amorbia cuneanum)American Sharp-angled Carpet Moth (Euphoria intermediata)Perhaps (Macaria adonis)Pero mizonPero mizon mothZigzag furlcula moth (Furcula scolopendrina) left, and Pero mizon moth on the rightColumbian Emerald Moth (Nemoria darwiniata)EnnonominaeTortricid moth (Genus Pandemis) I believeBug bucket interior with egg cartons and cardboard for moths to have hiding spotsNoctuinaeZigzag furcula moths and Pero mizon mothVirginia Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica)Virginia Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica)Virginia Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica)Virginia Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica)Zigzag Furcula Moth (Furcula scolopendrina)
I posted a few images last week to my iNaturalist page to see if I could get help from some experts in the butterfly community to ID this Polygonia butterfly past genus. It sparked a lively amount of conversation and I finally received a comment in the thread from West Seattle-based nature guide, ecological consultant and botanist, Stewart Wechsler, stating, “@cyndibrast Looks like you have the first confirmed Polygonia oreas iNaturalist observation for the San Juan Islands!” I would also throw out that the first person to correctly speculate the ID for this is my friend, lepidopterist David Droppers, who suggested I post in a wider audience to see what feedback I might receive.
Cool! So, I have the first Oreas Anglewing iNat. Sighting for San Juan County. 😀
Polygonia oreas – March 29, 2023, San Juan County, WA
Have there been others? Probably. Not everyone is using iNaturalist, so some sightings may not be on the radar for other bug enthusiasts. I like it to keep all my bug sightings organized and categorized and all that stuff and using iNaturalist makes it easy to find things when I want to go back to reference one. If you don’t have the iNat. app, give it a try. It makes your outdoor experiences a lot more interesting in a nerdy, scientific way. You can be a naturalist on your hike. It’s fun!
Here’s a bit of information about this interesting butterfly, now officially recorded on San Juan Island. Links to sources included below.
Oreas Anglewing (Polygonia oreas)
*From (C. LaBar 2013) and (Björklund, N.H. 2018-2022)*
SIZE: Wingspan of 40 to 50 mm (up to 2 inches)
Key ID Features: Above orange with black blotches and spots, often with very jagged wing edges, submarginal row of yellow chevrons and brown to black marginal band. HW above has yellow patches adjacent to dark marginal band. Below dark gray to black, with lighter gray striations, and prominent white flattened “v” (pointed at the bottom, often looking like a gull in flight) with no hooks in center of HW.
Similar species: Darker below than other comma species, white “v” mark on HW below lacks barbs. Other comma species either have stronger green submarginal shading below or the “comma” mark on HW below is curved (not a pointed “v”) or barbed or both.
Male: rusty orange and gold with black spots, dark brown wing margin with row of bright yellow spots. Ventral is variegated in contrasting shades of dark brown and black. White comma on VHW.
Female: slightly lighter dorsal and ventral colors and less-distinct ventral mottling.
Egg: green.
Larva: first two instars are brown and pale beige with black hairs and spines. Last three instars are mostly black with thin, white or yellowish bands around each segment and covered with rows of yellow-orange spines.
Pupa: mottled reddish brown, white and gray, with three pairs of silver spots.
Larval hostplants: currants (Ribes), primarily swamp currant (R. viscosissimum), also including R. divericatum (straggly gooseberry), and R. lacustre (swamp gooseberry).
Habitat: Forest fringes, especially in older stands, riparian areas and ravines, subalpine meadows.
Range: Coast Range, Willamette Valley, Western Cascades, east slope of Cascades, Wallowa Mtns, Blue Mtns. Season: Late February to mid-September Abundance: Uncommon
Some of you might cringe at the idea of standing below a porch light while an eclipse of moths (yep, that’s what a group of moths are called) are whirling and gyrating around your head. I find it fascinating, even as they hit at my face or hair, before bouncing back towards the light or disappearing off in the dark night.
Camera in hand, I wait for them to settle on the wood siding beneath the glow. Stealthily, I focus my lens to capture the delicate shimmer of scales and patterns, or eyes and antennae of my subject. Last night, I actually felt I was the one being observed.
This particular moth is in the genus Hypena. The species is Hypena decorata. It is a medium sized (15-18mm), somewhat drab moth. This species is sexually dimorphic – meaning the males look differently than the females. Males are slightly larger than females, with sooty brown forewings marked with two white spots near the apex or bottom edge of the wing.
Food/host plants for Hypena decorata are nettles (Urtica spp.) in the Urticaceae. These moths range from BC to Southern California. There appears to be two broods per year (April and August). Adults come to lights and can be found flying from April to September.
While this may appear to be merely another drab, ordinary moth, I want to show you the photos I took of the male and the nearby female last night. I missed it when I first went through my photos, but the second time around, it definitely appeared that the male moth was turning his head to watch me. Sort of like how Drago, my dragon lizard will do the same thing.
It’s a mysterious world, and much more rich when we recognize we aren’t the only ones that are aware. Some humans (I’m ashamed of researchers for this) do horrible things like cut off moths antennae to try and figure out how they fly (or can’t fly after being mutilated in this way). If we could only recognize they have a desire to live, find mates, food, and shelter – just like humans, maybe we would care more.
Bradley H. Dickerson, Zane N. Aldworth, Thomas L. Daniel; Control of moth flight posture is mediated by wing mechanosensory feedback. J Exp Biol 1 July 2014; 217 (13): 2301–2308. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.103770
Author’s note – When it comes to experimenting on living beings, the aim of science shouldn’t always be to prove a hypothesis. Sometimes we need only to experience the extraordinary wonder of meeting the spirit within some of earth’s most unassuming characters. Be kind to those around you. Even the ones with scales and chitin.
Orthosia transparens – the Transparent Quaker Moth
I’d really love it if I could rename this moth. Strawberry muppet heart moth is what I’d call it. Check out the little heart-shaped markings on it’s wings.
Orthosia transparensOrthosia transparensOrthosia transparensOrthosia transparens – with heart mark on wing
Orthosia transparens is a medium sized (15-17mm) , brownish red Noctuid moth that flies in our region in early spring. The common name for the species is Transparent Quaker Moth. Caterpillar food plants include salal (Gaultheria shallon), madrone (Arbutus menziesii), and rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum). This species is native to the PNW region and not considered pests of economic significance. A map of the geographic distribution can be accessed here – http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=10479
Noctuidae is the family with the awful common name, “cutworm,” which leads folks to deem them evil little garden gremlins that should be stomped on or tossed out on the ground for birds to scavenge. Not all cutworms are bad, and certainly many more of us would embrace them if we knew they were going to turn out to be so cute.
I’m fine with a bit of herbivory on our salal, madrone, and rhododendrons. These little Strawberry Muppets are welcome to fly to my porch light any spring night.
Well, I was wrong in my theory about these possibly being Nepytia phantasmaria orPhantom Hemlock Loopereggs, so my next steps will be to review all my moth photos from early September to try and thread out any other possibilities. That may take some time. Initial observation (date eggs laid) was Sept. 12, 2021. Today is Oct. 7, 2021. They are indeed pretty tiny and if you look closely, you can see the caterpillar body rolled up in the eggs that haven’t hatched. The tree is a Caucasian Fir (Abies nordmanniana).
eggs on Caucasian Fir, San Juan Island, WA 09.12.2021eggs on Caucasian Fir, San Juan Island, WA 09.12.2021Eggs darkening – September 18, 2021 San Juan Island They hatched! Oct. 7, 2021
Mystery moth eggs hatch – October 7, 2021
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for further updates. I’ll do my best to figure out an ID for these. 🙂
The social media giant we all have become overly dependent on in recent years, had a big, giant F-A-I-L today. The entire site was down. I couldn’t share bug photos or look to see what crazy or amazing things my friends had been up to. I also couldn’t watch the fabulous video of the frog and bearded dragon that I’ve been replaying over, and over, and over because it’s so DARN cute! You can find it on Tik Tok if you can’t find it on Facebook.
In the void, I resorted to the fail safe backup. It’s called E-mail. I really feel old because I actually remember how we communicated before the advent of cyberspace – handwriting letters that you put a stamp on and eventually were delivered by USPS.
So, in my email, I actually had received two nice bug pictures I want to share with you. Victoria Compton (who is running for Friday Harbor Port Commissioner btw) sent these to me. The first, a caterpillar, is going to turn into my favorite moth, Lophocampa roseata or the Rosy Amelia Moth. The 2nd, is a ground beetle in the family Carabidae (Scaphinotus marginatus) – also sometimes called the Margined Snail-eating Carabid Beetle.
Happy Bug Viewing! Thanks for checking these out and thanks for sending the photos Victoria! You have my vote. 😉
Bugging You From San Juan Island 