It was a dark and stormy night

And warm, too, at a sweltering 50° F, so I made plans to be up late looking for moths and caddisflies. I turned on the porch light, made a little cup of espresso, and waited awhile. When I went out I almost couldn’t believe what I saw: Ancylis albacostana. The broad white band on the forewings certainly seemed to point to that species. But there were some differences. First, the wings are not uniformly leaden gray. Instead, there is a very noticeable amount of red forming a narrow triangle above the white band and is separated from that by a narrow black line. Then, below the white band is a narrow ash gray band. The main part of the forewings are leaden-gray. Finally, near the beginning of the forewings are two raised bumps. When I compared this moth to available photos it seemed not match well at all. The description of Ancylis albacostana by Kearfott is also at odds with this moth’s appearance. In an earlier post (here) I stated I had found Ancylis albacostana but later retracted that (there) when it appeared the moth in question was actually Capis curvata.

Also attracted to the light last night were five individuals of the caddisfly Glyphopsyche irrorata and three of the moth Agonopterix argillacea. I’ll be up late again tonight to get more photos of this Ancylis and other moths.

SOURCES

Kearfott, William Dunham (1905). Descriptions of New Species of Tortricid Moths From North Carolina, With Notes. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, Vol. 28: 319-364. Description on page 360.

Species Ancylis albacostana – White-edged Ancylis Moth – Hodges#3387 at Bug Guide.

Some new moths

The tiny gray moth in the photo above is one of the latest moth finds here this month. I’ve seen several of these moths in the last week flying just above the ground or walking on the snow. Some even came to my porch light one warm night (April 22) with an air temperature of 46° F and also my kitchen so I was able to photograph them. They are Agonopterix argillacea. Adult moths in this genus aestivate during the winter and emerge in the early spring to lay eggs. The larvae of A. argillacea feed on willows (Salix spp.) which are abundant in the wetlands around here.

Besides A. argillacea other species of moths are showing up as the temperatures get warmer. By “warmer” I mean between 32° F and 40° F. The three moths shown below were found flying just above the snow when air temperatures were almost 40° F in the early morning (April 18 and 22) and late afternoon (April 22) as the sun was setting. I have not been able to identify them despite going through hundreds of photos at the Moth Photographers Group and Bug Guide websites. One may be in the genus Apotomis.

The first moth of the year. Possibly Apotomis.

An unknown moth species.

And another unknown moth species.

On Sunday night (April 22) when the air temperature was 46° F (after almost reaching 70° F during the day) I turned on my porch light and two individuals of this large moth came to the light. I am not certain of the species but it looks like an Orthosia. I’m going to take a break from trying to figure this one out.

Ctenucha Moth (Ctenucha virginica) and other caterpillars are also coming out of hibernation venturing out onto the snow it seems not wanting to wait for the really warm weather. I found this Ctenucha Moth caterpillar (below) and several others in the late afternoon (April 22) on some icy snow floating in a flooded field. They were soaked and looked dead but after a few minutes in my hands perked up so I moved them to some higher and drier ground. Ctenucha Moth caterpillars overwinter as immature larvae. When warm spring weather comes back they emerge from hiding and begin to eat grasses and sedges their primary food plants. In a few weeks they are fully grown and pupate. By early summer the Ctenucha Moths hatch from their pupa to start the process over. Ctenucha Moths are in the Subfamily Arctiinae which includes the familiar Woolly Bear (Pyrrharctia isabella).

This next fuzzy caterpillar was found on April 19th crawling across the snow in a sedge marsh. The caterpillar, whose species identification is unknown but may be related to the Ctenucha, seemed to have no problem with the cold. I watched it for a little while until it reached a clump of exposed sedge and then went inside. It is fascinating to me that these cold-blooded animals can function just fine when ambient temperatures are only a few degrees above freezing and snow is still on the ground.

Now that most of the snow is gone it is becoming harder to find these tiny moths. But soon other species will emerge as the days get warmer and plants start to grow.

First Moth of the Year

The mothing season here has officially begun with this sighting of the first moth of the year. Yesterday morning I was heading down to the small stream that flows through my property to set up a minnow trap which I use to monitor aquatic life in the stream. On the way a small moth flew towards me and then landed in the snow. I scooped it up into a paper towel and brought it back to the house where I photographed it. I’m not sure of the species but I think this moth is in the Family Tortricidae. It looks a lot like some members of the genus Apotomis but that’s just my guess for now. I wonder if this moth overwintered as an adult or as a pupa.

I went back to the stream in the afternoon to look for more moths. There was a rove beetle (Orochares?), a water scavenger beetle (Hydrobius), and spiders (most were Thanatus) on the melting snow but no moths. Today and into the weekend it will be much warmer with temperatures at or above 60°F. That should increase insect and spider activity which I think I will go see right now.

More Moths

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Eight more moths for the checklist: Mint Root Borer (Fumibotys fumalis), Deceptive Snout Moth (Hypena deceptalis), Bronzy Macrochilo (Macrochilo orciferalis), Forage Looper (Caenurgina erechtea), Purple-backed Cabbageworm (Evergestis pallidata), White-banded Toothed Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata), Labrador Carpet (Xanthorhoe labradorensis), and Dark Marbled Carpet (Dysstroma citrata) bringing it to 161 species identified. There were three repeated names, a genus name with no species epithet, and one name from a set of photos misidentified as Xanthorhoe ferrugata but really Euphyia intermediata (already on the list). Those last two are members of the “Carpets” which because of their intricate patterns can be a challenge to differentiate. When the dust settled the actual number of species on April 05 was not 158 but 153. Adding these eight species on April 10 makes the total for the checklist 161 species.

Some Brief Facts

Mint Root Borer (Fumibotys fumalis) – not well liked wherever mint (Mentha spp.) is grown as its larvae feed on mint leaves and then as they get older on the roots and rhizomes.

Deceptive Snout Moth (Hypena deceptalis) – this moth confused me at first and I misidentified it as Gray-edged Hypena (Hypena madefactalis) which was wishful thinking on my part. After going over many photos of each species at Moth Photographers Group and Bug Guide it became clear my initial identification was wrong. The larvae of Deceptive Snout Moth feed on leaves of American basswood (Tilia americana). Members of Hypena are specialized feeders.

Bronzy Macrochilo (Macrochilo orciferalis) – food preferences of this species larvae are grasses but many others in the subfamily (Herminiinae, Litter Moths) eat dead leaves and leaf litter.

Forage Looper (Caenurgina erechtea) – larvae feed on a variety of grasses and legumes grown for forage and hay including alfalfa and the weedy plant giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida).

Purple-backed Cabbageworm (Evergestis pallidata) – possibly introduced to North America in the early 1800s the larvae of this moth feed on many members of the mustard family including bittercress (Cardamine spp.), cabbage, and horseradish.

White-banded Toothed Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) – the larvae of this species feed on bedstraw (Galium spp.).

Labrador Carpet (Xanthorhoe labradorensis) – larvae feed on many species of woody and herbaceous plants

Dark Marbled Carpet (Dysstroma citrata) – larvae feed on blackberry, raspberry, and thimbleberry (Rubus spp.), alder (Alnus spp.), willow (Salix spp.) and several other woody and herbaceous plant species.

The list keeps growing

Just before publishing this I added seven more species: Crambus leachellus, Agriphila ruricolellus, Palpita magniferalis, Monopis monachella, Epinotia lindana, and possibly Herpetogramma aeglealis and Dichomerus fistuca (these last two seem at least to be in the right genus) bringing the total to 168 species identified. The list keeps on growing as I sort through photos and to that list can be added 219 photos of yet to be identified species. Given that there are an estimated 1,500 to 2,200 moth species in Minnesota the possibility of 600 to 900 moth species in my county does not seem far-fetched. I hope to add another 100 species this summer as I explore new areas at night on my property (not just the porch) and search for moth larvae by day.

Corrections

In the April 05 post “Four new finds in the moth photo files and a rediscovery” I mentioned I had found Ancylis albacostana. It turns out I had not but instead had misidentified Capis curvata as that species. They are similar especially if the white band on the ends of the forewing is wide on C. curvata. A. albacostana is somewhat rare in northern Minnesota where I live so chances of finding it are small (but not impossible).

What I had previously thought was Toothed Brown Carpet (Xanthorhoe lacustrata) in an earlier version of this post is White-banded Toothed Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata).

SOURCES AND MORE INFORMATION

D. Beadle and S. Leckie (2012). Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Boston. 640 pages.

R. E. Berry and L. B. Coop (2000). Mint Root Borer Lepidoptera: Pyralidae Fumibotys fumalis. Publication No. IPPC E.01-01-1. Oregon State University, Department of Entomology and Integrated Plant Protection Center, Corvallis, Oregon. October 24, 2000.

E. M. Quinn and R. Danielson (2009). A Survey of Lepidoptera in Three Priority Areas of the Minnesota State Parks System Final Report. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources – Division of Parks and Trails. 49 pages.

Robinson, G. S., P. R. Ackery, I. J. Kitching, G. W. Beccaloni and L. M. Hernández (2010). HOSTS – A Database of the World’s Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosts.

J. Sogaard (2009). Moths and Caterpillars of the North Woods. Kollath+Stensaas Publishing. Duluth, MN. 276 pages.

D. Schweitzer, J. R. Garris, A. E. McBride, and J. A. M. (2014). The current status of forest Macrolepidoptera in northern New Jersey: evidence for the decline of understory specialists. Appendix D. Journal of Insect Conservation. Vol. 18, Issue 4, pages 561–571.

Species accounts at the Bug Guide website

Moth Photographers Group website (check out their Plate Series)

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum website