Noctuidae | Bugging You From San Juan Island

Tag Archives: Noctuidae

April 6, 2025 – A Wet Spring Day

Posted on April 6, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island One comment

Last night, I did manage to get my moth light working again and set things up to see what I might find this morning. While I didn’t really want to get out of bed at 7:30, keeping a routine is important to me. I find it tremendously helpful in managing the ups and downs of one’s mental perspective. You’ll have to bear with me a bit though. I will get to the moths, but have to vent about something that upset me. One of my three cats was chattering at the sliding door when I walked towards the kitchen. I looked out to see what he was watching, and there was a little bird on the ground, obviously suffering from some unfortunate injury (most likely from our neighbor’s free roaming cat). That made me feel sad and angry and it wasn’t the best start to my day.

Don’t get me wrong. I love cats, but I don’t agree that it is OK to allow your feline friend to maim and kill wildlife. I do take my kitties outside with me into our fenced area for supervised recess, but I DO NOT ever leave my cats out alone and certainly do not allow the killing of wildlife. Not even bugs. Drago the lizard may get away with bug murder on occasion, but his impact is quite minor compared to the magnitude of damage done by free roaming cats when it comes to decimating wildlife.

We need to get people to change and become more responsible pet owners. If you disagree with me on this, I might add that I also saw someone’s cat was literally ripped apart on their front porch by two unleashed huskies in Friday Harbor yesterday. That also makes me sad and angry. I blame the cat owner AND the dog owner. It was senseless and preventable.

I think humans need a license to own a pet. We also need ANIMAL CONTROL in San Juan County. There is none and these huskies have been loose and killed cats before. However, if the cat owner was allowing the cat to roam outside unsupervised and unprotected, that’s another layer to the incident. What if someone had left their baby in a stroller long enough to run inside for keys, a purse, etc.? No one should own a husky as a pet. They are notorious for getting loose and killing things. But humans are not all that smart are they?

I did go out to check on the bird. It sort of looked like a finch, or maybe even a female cowbird (except it was too small to be a cowbird). Let’s just say the head looked like a female cowbird’s, but the body was more finch like in size.

It can hop. I put a bit of seed out on the ground and left it alone. It would just stress the bird for me to try and capture it. Maybe it will recover.

Please don’t say, it’s just nature, because cats are not native here. Also, my neighbor’s cat dug up all of my garden pea starts last year and pooped in the garden bed. Pea starts are expensive. People need to keep their cats indoors, or in a catio, or just supervise them outside so they don’t cause problems or be killed by dogs that should not be owned by humans as pets.

After I checked on the bird, I did go and look at my moth bucket. There were 7 specimens. Not many, but I went through them and here’s what I found. Six moths and one wasp.

*Cerastis enigmatica*, the Enigmatic Dart Moth

*Orthosia hibisci*, the Speckled Green Fruitworm Moth

*Egira crucialis* , I believe. Egira for certain though

Orthosia sp. I am undecided about species for this one.

The next moth below looks like it has a little pixie cap on. It’s one of my favorites. The red colors are so pretty. It’s in genus Orthosia like some of the others above, but I believe this one is Orthosia transparens.

I saved the best one for last. I have only seen this moth on two other occasions, but it one so remarkable, you remember it well. This is an owlet moth called Behrensia conchiformis. I would love to discover what makes the interesting metallic colors in the wings. The larvae of this species are foodplant specialists. They feed only on honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.) and snowberry (Symphoricarpos spp.) in the Caprifoliaceae.

Thanks for reading…especially for reading my rambling rants of the day. While I’d like to stick to just bugs, I am finding it somewhat therapeutic to include my feelings here, and to interject some of my opinions. They are mine and yours may be different. I respect that, but I hope perhaps upon reflection, even someone who might initially disagree with my perspective, might have a change of heart.

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April 2, 2025

Posted on April 2, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island 2 comments

I didn’t turn on my moth light last night. I thought about it, but supposed I just wasn’t feeling all that motivated. If I’m completely honest with myself, I am feeling a bit blue. Maybe more than a bit. I wrestle with feeling shut out of the “enviro” community on the island and have felt snubbed by some of the folks in certain organizations. Life on an island can be great, but there are times when it feels like you’re in a fishbowl. Some people don’t get beyond 8th grade social networks. Shrugging here. 🤷‍♀️ I am just going to continue to do my bug thing and if people want to connect, they are always welcome. Sometimes I get really great emails and feel like my efforts to share what I know about bugs matter. I hope so. We need bugs. Even the ones that aren’t perceived as charismatic as a butterfly or a bee.

Here’s a moth that made me think of a funny story to share. This one’s for my daughter. I hope she will get a laugh out of it. We used to have a rabbit named Izzy. Her full name was Izzy Belle Cottontail. She was supposed to be a wild rabbit. How did we come to have her? A neighbor’s dog killed her nest mates and she was the only one to survive. They brought her to me asking for help. She wasn’t but days or maybe even hours old. Her eyes were closed and her umbilical cord stump was still attached. I tried to give her to my rehabber friend, but she was overwhelmed. I ended up caring for Izzy. Bottle feeding every hour or so, even through the night. When she was old enough, we tried to release her. She ran back in the house and that was that. She came with us when we moved to Washington…all the way from Texas. If you want to see a video of Izzy, you can check out the YouTube link here: https://youtu.be/6S0qnwgzLbM?si=JsMYN8rG1Hfu67FB

So why does this moth in the video below remind me of Izzy? Well, Izzy had a really bad habit of chewing things. Rabbits have to wear their teeth down, but I think young rabbits just want to try everything out. One morning my daughter got up and came to get me. She said, “Mom, Izzy gave me sprigs.” She did indeed have “sprigs” of hair sticking up where Izzy had chewed off pieces in the night. Izzy gave me sprigs a few times too. In spite of her chewing and other unfortunate habits, we loved Izzy dearly and she lived a very long and happy life with us.

This little moth is Orthosia hibisci, the speckled green fruitworm moth. As you can see, it has little “sprigs” sticking up from the top of its head too. Those aren’t antennae, but they are cute! Orthosia hibisci is a moth in the Noctuid family. The caterpillars are sort of a generic green. They like chewing too, but fortunately, it’s limited to leaves. You might find them on willow, birch, maple, or other various deciduous trees (including fruit trees like plum and cherry). The adults are typically one of the earliest species to emerge in spring.

Orthosia hibisci, Speckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Observed April 1 2025 on San Juan Island, WA

Check out the links below to find out more about Orthosia hibisci

Bugguide.net https://bugguide.net/node/view/4865

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Orthosia-hibisci

Moth Photographers Group https://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=10495

Cutworm parasite

Posted on May 3, 2024 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island One comment

I’m doing a short write up of this fly just to get you thinking a bit. It was observed April 29, 2024 on San Juan Island, WA. While identification to Genus/Species may not be possible until I can actually catch a specimen to be keyed out, it is Family Tachinidae and Tribe Goniini. Hoping to come back with at least a Genus update at some point.

What I want to SHARE is the life history of this tribe of flies. The Goniini flies are parasites of various Lepidoptera, mostly Noctuids, Arctiids, and Lymantriids. Translating this for you a bit, it would be cutworms (if you’re a gardener) , tiger moths, and tussock moths.

How does this play out?

The female Goniini fly lays a “black microtype,” usually ovate and flattened egg, varying in size from very small to medium, on foliage utilized by the feeding host caterpillar. The caterpillar (usually Noctuids) munch the foliage, ingesting the fly egg. The caterpillar will continue feeding and then wander off to complete its life cycle as a pupa. At some point after ingestion by the caterpillar, the fly egg hatches and the fly larva develops inside the body of the pupating moth that is inside its chrysalis.

A myriad of ecological relationships exist in nature that are often unobserved. Many remain undescribed or unknown. Sometimes, they are disrupted by humans who intervene out of ignorance. If you’re one of those folks who squish what you believe are cutworm pupae in your garden bed, you might be smooshing the pest predator developing inside.

References

No Author. 2024. Tachinidae. Spencer Entomological Collection. Beaty Biodiversity Museum. https://www.zoology.ubc.ca/entomology/main/Diptera/Tachinidae/
Wood, D. M. 2013. Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Tachinidae Resources. https://www.uoguelph.ca/nadsfly/Tach/Nearctic/Manual/Manualhome.html
Cole. Frank, R. 1969. The Flies of Western North America. University of California Press. Berkeley, CA.

National Moth Week 2023, Day 1 – San Juan Island, WA

Posted on July 22, 2023 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island One comment

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*)

National Moth Week

Bug Bucket Friday

Posted on July 14, 2023 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island 2 comments

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

I believe this is Dasychira griefacta . It takes off somewhat awkwardly but made it up into a tall fir tree.

National Moth Week

Bug Bucket Wednesday

Posted on July 12, 2023 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

Eyed Sphinx Moth (Smerinthus ophthalmica)

Leading up to the Twelfth Annual National Moth Week, July 22-30, 2023 https://nationalmothweek.org, I am getting into moth mode with some early collecting to see what is flying about the forest near our home at night.

My first attempts at this were quite unsatisfying, save for the two awesome beetles that came to visit. The bug station I set up just wasn’t yielding much in the way of moths, at least until I discovered my station had been discovered by some thieving yellow jackets who were picking off my moths right in front of my eyes. Something had to change. I sure didn’t want to lure in these beautiful creatures to become a breakfast buffet.

I got some very helpful advice from a friend named Carl. Carl is an expert moth-er, and he recommended putting some egg cartons in my bug bucket so they would have a place to hide. I tried this last night, adding two egg cartons and some pieces of cardboard. Then, I went to hang my bucket up and turn on the light – EXCEPT, those darn yellow jackets showed up at 9 pm. They must have excellent memory. I suppose they wanted to be first in line at the moth buffet.

I moved my bug bucket and light to another location. It was a success. Here is the assortment of moths I collected last night. All were handled with gentle care and photographed. Afterwards, I moved them to hiding spots in the forest to make them less susceptible to predation.

Gallery Below

*Furcula scolopendrina* or Zigzag Furcula Moth

If you’re interested in participating locally in National Moth Week, please don’t hesitate to reach out for more information. You can find me via email at cynthiabrast@icloud.com or on Facebook at Bugs of the San Juan Islands – a private group, but easy to join by answering a couple of questions and agreeing to follow the group rules to prove you aren’t a spammer and won’t be disruptive. 😉

Thanks for viewing!

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Strawberry Muppets

Posted on March 28, 2022 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island One comment

**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 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.

Check out the gallery below for more photos and if you’re interested in reading more about this moth, check out my friend, Dan’s nice write up on his blog here – http://10000thingsofthepnw.com/2022/02/03/orthosia-transparens-transparent-quaker-moth/

Thanks for reading!

Creepy Evil Cutworms?

Posted on March 25, 2022 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

What adjective would you use to describe a cutworm? Perhaps pest? Something like the evil caterpillar, Mister Mind, one of Captain Marvel’s archenemies in the DC comic strip series?

If you’re a gardener, the name “cutworm” may conjure up an evil worm that wants to eat your vegetables.

If you have a lawn or own a golf course, cutworms may be the gremlins that destroy turf grass. Now personally, I think five year olds should make policy around cutworms because there aren’t many five year olds who actually WANT to eat their veggies. They’ll see reason in defending the cutworm gremlin.

I’m not a golfer, and don’t have a lawn, so I personally don’t care too much if cutworms munch turf grass. Those sites should be classified as biohazard sites right along with nuclear waste if you ask me. They’ve had so many chemicals dumped on them over the years, they can’t be anything but noxious, environmentally toxic sponges.

Seriously, stop for a moment and Google “cutworm.” What pops up? Ads for every sort of pesticide imaginable. There may a be one or two advertised as “Safer” (yep, that’s a brand name), or natural, but they are designed with the same, single, solitary mission. Nuke the cutworm.

How many average American citizens do you think, can really distinguish between one sort of cutworm or another? Did you know the name, cutworm, is used to describe the larval or caterpillar form of a whole grouping of Lepidoptera that fall into the family Noctuidae?

If you’re really into bugs, or you are an entomologist (like me), then you also might know that the family Noctuidae has another name. These so-called cutworms (some are also called army worms) are the OWLET MOTHS. Why do you think? Well, because when they grow up, they look so unbelievably cute – like owls. Also, like this one! I named him Henry!

Henry is the cutest little dude around. His scientific name is Stretchia muricina. I think that name sounds a little bit Italian to me, but he’s not part of the mafia. Actually, Henry looks more like a teeny little lion or maybe even like Orson the Wheely Bird in Sid and Marty Krofft’s late 60’s TV show, HR PufnStuff.

**Seymour the Spider and Orson the Wheely Bird – HR Pufnstuf**

Whatever YOU see when you look at Henry, you’ve got to agree that he’s cute.

Henry (Stretchia muricina), an Owlet Moth

Henry used to be a cutworm. People are trying to kill him!

Henry isn’t a horrible garden pest though. When Henry was a caterpillar, he was more interested in eating a bit of your native currants. Sure, we all love to look at the beautiful flowers on our currants in the springtime, but he didn’t eat the flowers. He just ate a few leaves. There aren’t many cutworms like Henry. Just a few. They aren’t the same as the massive hoards of army worms that show up in the grass, or the cutworms that want to enjoy your newly sprouted veggies.

It’s pretty tough for a regular person to positively ID a caterpillar, so Henry recommends resisting the urge to grab that powder, spray, or torch. Don’t judge all cutworms to be evil. There are some tools you can take advantage of to help you sort caterpillars. Take a look at these links below and embrace diversity in the world. Caterpillars have feelings too!

Calscape.org https://calscape.org – Lists plants and invertebrates associated with plants. While some may be out of our region, many do overlap. Extremely useful. I wish WSU had one of these sites!
Caterpillar ID https://www.caterpillaridentification.org
Caterpillar ID Washington State – https://www.caterpillaridentification.org/caterpillars-by-state-listing.php?reach=Washington
Washington Native Plant Society Caterpillars https://www.wnps.org/blog/some-washington-caterpillars
Pacific Northwest Moths http://pnwmoths.biol.wwu.edu
Washington Moths https://www.butterflyidentification.org/moths-by-state-listing.php?reach=Washington
Bugs of the San Juan Islands https://www.facebook.com/groups/bugsofthesanjuanislands
Stretchia muricina species page http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=10473
Stretchia muricina Bugguide species page https://bugguide.net/node/view/134890

Check out the rest of Henry’s adorable photos here. I found him last night hanging out on our deck. He was afraid of me at first and actually played dead (the entomological term for that is Thanatosis, so you can impress your family and friends). Once Henry figured out I had no intent to harm, he decided to pose and show off a bit. After his photoshoot, Henry went back to his spot on the wood siding.