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Post by exoticimports on Jun 30, 2020 4:36:24 GMT -8
Well, thus far a strange year, mostly disappointing. Nights in the 70s, days near 90. Still, not much at the lights. Last night, of course, another oddity. About 70F most of the night with a low of 63. Half moon at 30 degrees azimuth at sunset, so on paper looked like it would be another lost night. But, this morning, five male lunas! Finally- a month late! Four were damaged, two heavily, indicating they had been beating around the deck for some time last night. Two were outside the privacy fence on the deck. Also one female promethea, and several small sphingids (darapsa). Some photos of smalls from the last week or so, along with the lunas:
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Post by mothman27 on Jun 30, 2020 5:18:51 GMT -8
You never know what to expect! Over the last 5ish years that I have been collecting a lot I have never come across a single Sphinx kalmiae and now this year at the lights in my backyard I have gotten 3 specimens. I got a female Automeris io at the light yesterday and now have some eggs This year there have been lots of H. scribonia and D. myron. There was a beaten male Imperial moth at the light last week, first of the year. Also, the prometheas I raised are still emerging this late in the year. It's been over a month since the first ones started hatching. I am up to 13 species of Sphingids this year.
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Post by exoticimports on Jun 30, 2020 7:21:39 GMT -8
I went back through my records, and did find one of A. luna at the lamp as late as 14 July.
Still, to not see them appear until late June is unheard of.
Chuck
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Post by Paul K on Jun 30, 2020 7:43:31 GMT -8
I went back through my records, and did find one of A. luna at the lamp as late as 14 July. Still, to not see them appear until late June is unheard of. Chuck I did light moth collecting for the first time here in Ontario since 15 years on June 20 and 5 male A.luna came to MV. Only one was in quite good shape A1-. I also collected aberrant female which laid 80 eggs for me so I will be busy with raising luna. This is actually first encounter I have had with this beautiful species.
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Post by exoticimports on Jul 6, 2020 4:09:28 GMT -8
Well, I spent four nights over the weekend with a 18w BLB at a friend's place. Old maples and walnuts, with a yard dropping down to a swamp. Nothing. Go figure.
So last night the 175W MV at home, yielded one female promethea, three lunas- one a female, and while wings were perfect she'd already laid her eggs. And one Darapsa sphinx.
Chuck
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Post by mothman27 on Jul 7, 2020 3:33:26 GMT -8
Last night I collected my first ever Pawpaw Sphinx (Dolba hyloeus), a female. This makes 16 sphingid species this year.
Recently I have gotten several Ceratomia catalpae as well as Paonias excaecata.
I got a Grammia virgo two days ago.
Last night I also got a large Monochamus longorn beetle.
Still only seen one imperial, a worn male.
Io have been pretty common.
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Post by exoticimports on Jul 8, 2020 4:15:43 GMT -8
The last few days, like early last week, have been spectacular for luna, with a half-dozen coming each night. One one has returned on subsequent nights; I take this to mean that the nightly population are fly-bys, which would indicate that the forest is loaded with luna. What a change from a few weeks ago when I worried luna had skipped this year's eclosure!
Got another female C. promethea, but she wouldn't lay eggs.
Last night experienced an explosion in "visitors" with thousands of male gypsy moths (L. dispar). Only other species were a couple early Darapsa sphinx, and a late A. juglandis (walnut sphinx); no lunas. I suspect everything was driven off by the horrible gypsy moths.
Oddly, the only Io was weeks ago; normally they come in droves, though I suspect they are coming since they typically follow luna.
Mothman, good score on the sphingids this year! We don't get many of the species you do.
Chuck
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Post by Paul K on Jul 8, 2020 6:03:51 GMT -8
L.dispar is a huge problem here on this side of the lake. They consume absolutely everything, last trip to forest I saw larvae on some wild grass species.
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Post by exoticimports on Jul 8, 2020 6:17:46 GMT -8
L.dispar is a huge problem here on this side of the lake. They consume absolutely everything, last trip to forest I saw larvae on some wild grass species. The last time I saw massive devastation by gypsy moths was Letchworth State Park, NY circa 2002. This year, reported in same park, as well as town parks near me (though I have been to these parks, and not observed gypsy moth infestation, so it could be reported by a bunch of typically poor-informed bird watchers.) I can say there were about 300 males at the light, when typically it might be closer to 20. Ironically, I found this article from 2018 wondering where they went. "WE'RE BAAAACK!" www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/science/gypsy-moths-fungus.htmlChuck
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Post by Paul K on Jul 8, 2020 7:19:32 GMT -8
Here I can see thousands of larvae effected by fungus “melting” on the tree trunks, nevertheless i suppose it will be few more years ahead until they get under control this time.
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Post by mothman27 on Jul 10, 2020 2:42:13 GMT -8
Gypsy moths have been at the sheet recently but not in large numbers. There is a definite lack of oaks right around my house. I got an imperial male yesterday. Ceratomia catalpae have been more common than I have seen in the past. Today I got a Plusia contexta and Phragmatobia fuliginosa.
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Post by Paul K on Jul 10, 2020 4:22:24 GMT -8
Gypsy moths have been at the sheet recently but not in large numbers. There is a definite lack of oaks right around my house. I got an imperial male yesterday. Ceratomia catalpae have been more common than I have seen in the past. Today I got a Plusia contexta and Phragmatobia fuliginosa. Gypsy moth will feed on any tree species ( never see one on conifer species as long as I remember). Trust me they don’t care about oak.
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Post by Paul K on Jul 11, 2020 10:20:38 GMT -8
Gypsy moth will feed on any tree species ( never see one on conifer species as long as I remember). Trust me they don’t care about oak. Actually, oaks are one of the preffered host plants for gypsy moth. www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/invasive_species/gm/What I meant they don’t care if it’s oak or not they eat it anyway. We have not so many oak trees in South Ontario but zillions of L.dispar. Females can not fly and most of the time they would emerge wait for male to mate and lay eggs on the same tree trunk. Last walk in the park proved that they can feed even on pine tree. I’ve seen them on all sort of bushes and on wild grasses. I would not be surprised if they could consume a paper 😂😜.
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Post by trehopr1 on Jul 12, 2020 9:59:40 GMT -8
I have to say that one would think after all these years the Gypsy moth populations would be in better check. That is to say you would think by now the U.S forest service would have developed a reasonably effective manner for curtailing their explosive populations -- via some targeting parasitoid etc. I realize of coarse chemicals of various sorts have probably been tried but, then they have probably proven to kill off most other things as well.
I don't mean to sound ignorant on this topic but, I live in Illinois and have never seen one. Never seen an article about them being here or any population issues related to them. They have been an issue in the Northeast states I know since at least 1905 and perhaps earlier. In my state, various beetle related pests have made the headlines here over these last 30 years...
Can anyone elaborate more on what is being done these days since I am out of the loop. Thanks...
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Post by exoticimports on Jul 12, 2020 17:07:34 GMT -8
Interesting observation: the female Luna and one female angulifera thus far are the largest specimens of the species I’ve ever seen. The angulifera is larger than some male cecropia.
Chuck
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