Chalky Wave (7158)

Scopula purata

Family Geometridae, subfamily Sterrhirnae

Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

10 June 2012

Steelmantown bog

CMMP block D12

Distribution map

Like Horned Spanworm, Chalky Wave is a geometer, readily discerned as such by its spread-wing posture at rest. Though it may not appear so in this picture due to the strong focus on the moth, when I found it, I initially passed it off as a bird dropping. Fortunately, I looked closer! Even a quick glance at the distribution map will provide the information that the species seems to have a strong coastal-plain affinity. Whether this apparent affinity is real or just an artifact of poor sampling -- and the few number of locations might well indicate that -- is unknown. However, given the few records, even on the heavily human-populated East Coast, I suspect that the species is probably tied to some rarish host-plant species. Given that we apparently do not know what that host plant is and that none of the usual picture sources (Bug Guide, BAMONA, and MPG) have a photograph of the caterpillar, I think that my hunch may be correct.

Another feature of this picture is that, upon finding the beast, I rummaged through Beadle and Leckie and found a depiction that looked very similar. Yet, when I posted this picture on my Flickr site, another Flickr member suggested that it was not, in fact, Large Lace-border, the species in the field guide that I had picked as the ID of this moth. I found that, going through MPG, that person was correct and it was confirmed as correct on Bug Guide. So, yet another lesson learned. Again. (Is that really "learned," then?) Just because something in the moth field guide looks quite close, check all of the resources available, because the field guide(s) cannot possibly cover all of the possibilities and all of the variations within those possibilities when dealing with moths.

Arge Tiger (8199)

Grammia arge

Family Erebidae, subfamily Arctiinae

Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

22 June 2012

West Cape May

CMMP block X02

Distribution map

The tiger moths are another of my favorite groups, again because of the family's relatively conservative shape that makes most species immediately identifiable to the group. Additionally, many tigers have distinctive, pleasing, and/or interesting forewing patterns. Many species have hairy, furry, or wooly caterpillars that get them distinctive names of their own. Tigers have a strong following among moth-ers, as exemplified by the fact that of the ridiculously low number of moth species recorded in the county before I and, particularly, Mike Crewe started working on them here (63), nearly one-sixth (10) are tigers, including Arge Tiger. As a brief aside, most of the rest of those 63 species are of two families: silk moths (Saturniidae, 14 species) and sphinx moths (Sphingidae 32 species)! In fact, only  one other family is represented, the Notodontidae (prominents).

Arge Tiger is one of the striped species that are particularly appreciated by moth-ers. Unlike most of them, however, Arge sports hindwings that are primarily pale, with some dark spotting; most have colorful hindwings, dominated by reds and yellows with contrasting bits of black. I would provide a link to a picture of the caterpillar of the species, but neither the MPG nor BAMONA pages have one as of the writing of this essay.

The individual subject of this essay was captured by Mike in his moth trap a few nights ago. I got to help go through the hundreds of moths (and hundreds of a large variety of other arthropod beasties) the next morning, when I took the above photo. Mike, who has spent a lot of time mothing in the U.K., particularly in Norfolk (for which see the incredible Norfolk moth site; here is a link to a species page), so knows oodles more than do I about moths. When he runs the trap, he endeavors to keep track of counts of every species. As he's relatively new to our moths, he keeps various ID references handy. Though I don't think that his tally is complete from that night, the last I heard, the species list was up to 75!  [28 July 2012 addendum:  The final tally from that night was 91 species!]

[A scene from the Crewe residence on the morning of 22 June 2012 with the new Beadle and Leckie field guide, a three-ring binder with -- apparently -- every plate from the MPG site printed, and the day's tally of common species from the trap. As with all photos on the site, click on the image to see a larger version.]

Epione Underwing (8773)

Catocala epione

Family Erebidae, subfamily Erebinae

Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

26 June 2012

Woods Road "square-doughnut field" (nw. corner of county)

CMMP block B07

Distribution map

The lovely beast that is the subject of this post, one of the larger underwing species, was found by Mike Crewe as we (along with Megan Crewe) were wandering in the northwest corner of the county today. As can be seen from the distribution map on the MPG site (that is, if you check on the map sometime before it gets this record added to it), you can see that the species was previously unknown from most of New Jersey.

The underwings are a favorite among moth-ers (I guess that we need that hyphen in there!) and collectors, probably due to many species' striking hindwing color and pattern and their exquisite forewing patterns. Ebione Underwing may have amongst the most exquisite of the latter. As noted in the Io Moth essay, those underwings with bright hindwing patterns probably use them as a startle feature. This underwing, however, does not have a hindwing with yellow, orange, or red and I know not whether they are a startling species. In the above picture, we can just see a bit of bright white border on what might be a black hindwing. Fortunately, before the beastie arranged itself in this posture on the trunk of a Pitch Pine, it was perched in a more-revealing pose (below), one that allows us to see that, indeed, the hindwings are mostly black.

Maple Callus Borer (2554)

Synanthedon acerni

Family Sesiidae

Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

20 June 2012

Belleplain State Forest HQ

CMMP block F09
Distribution map

The family Sesiidae, the Clearwing Borers, is an interesting moth family, members of which are often mistaken for hymenopterans (bees, wasps), which is, of course, the idea. They are primarily day-flying species, though this post's subject is the only such species that somewhat regularly comes to lights at night. As indicated by both the species' common and species names, the larvae consume maple. However, they do not eat leaves, but wood, boring into twigs, roots, branches, and trunks. The quite-similar-looking species Red Maple Borer (2546) has a more extensive black forewing tip and only one black patch on the interior of the forewing. And it does not come to lights at night. The various species of the family are difficult to locate, despite being diurnal beasts. Careful scrutiny of larger flowering plants, such as Joe-pyeweed, dogbane, and milkweed, may reveal their presence.

Virginia Creeper Sphinx (7885)

Darapsa myron

Family Sphingidae

Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

28 May 2012

Lake Nummy, Belleplain State Forest

CMMP block F08
Distribution map

The sphinx family has always been one of my favorite moth groups, for a variety of reasons. The primary reason may be that, for moths, their jet-fighter wing shape and stout bodies make them easily discernible in the field. Despite this stereotypical sphingid shape, there is quite a bit of variation within the family, in size, color pattern, posture, and feeding habits. The family even boasts a relatively substantial number of day-flying species, particularly the clear-winged species that act as hummingbirds and are often mistaken as such by laymen.

As this post's subject species' primary host plant -- amazingly enough, Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) -- is so common and widespread, so is the species. Though Virginia Creeper Sphinx comes in a variety of colors, the pattern of color is fairly consistent, and the white shoulder braids make for an excellent first clue to identity.

Southern Flannel (4647)

Megalopyge (Lagoa) opercularis

Family Megalopygidae

Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

17 June 2012

near Green Creek

CMMP block Q06
Distribution map

Though I have already treated a very close cousin of this post's subject, there are two reasons that I return to the Megalopygidae's type genus. The first is because these things are just too darned cute! I'll get to the second shortly. The other night I was sitting around in my house and got a wild hare to go check lighted signs for moths, because I did not feel like driving all the way up to Belleplain State Forest, my usual mothing destination. I also wanted to spread my effort around the county, as Mike Crewe and I are attempting to do an extensive atlas or mapping project for the county. So, I drove to Cape May Court House and back, visiting a bunch of lighted signs, some of which had few moths and none of which had anything like overwhelming numbers of moths.

I found this flannel at my very first stop, the King Nummy Campground along Hwy 47. In fact, it was the first moth that I photographed that night! Because I had recorded no moth species for the block (Q06), I photographed it to remind me to record it. And, of course, because flannels are just too darned cute! Upon going through my pictures at home the next morning, I noticed that the beast did not look quite like Black-waved Flannel, which is the only species of such that I had identified here. The color on the upper part of the wings was darker, ruddier, with a distinct yellow semi-collar. The pattern near the wing margins was also not quite right. Finally, it has much more extensive black on the legs than does Black-waved. I knew that Southern Flannel's range got into Maryland, but I didn't think that the species reached New Jersey. So, I checked the MPG site and, yowzer (!), that was the correct ID and the species was unknown from north and east of Maryland! Woo-hoo, first state record!

Of course, when mothing, it's fairly easy to find first state records, because we know them so poorly. Mike Crewe has garnered a host of first NJ moth records, but this was the first that I'd found, that I knew of. Recently, though, I have been checking the MPG site more for occurrence data than solely for ID help, and note that my extensive set of moth pictures from this spring includes quite a number of "first" NJ records (though Mike has, undoubtedly, already scored a few of those). But, hey, flannels are cute and this one was my first state first, hence the blog post.

News Flash Addendum!

Mike Crewe and I independently found Southern Flannels much farther north in the county, both finding them at the Belleplain State Forest HQ (block F09), Mike with six there on 24 June, and I found five there on 25 June (pic below). I may have to go look for the species in Cumberland and/or Atlantic counties!

Io Moth (7746)

Automeris io

Family Saturniidae (silkworms), subfamily Hemileucinae (buck moths)

Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

15 June 2012 (male, upper), 17 June 2012 (female), 13 June 2012 (male, lower)

Belleplain State Forest HQ

CMMP block F09 (males), S08 (female)
Distribution map

The Io Moth is quite attractive, with its extensive yellow (male) or bronzy-gray to purplish (female) wings and long, furry yellow forelegs. However, this species presents our first example of a particular phenomenon scattered widely through Lepidoptera, particularly among moths, and present in quite a few other orders of insects (and, in fact, even in some vertebrate groups). That phenomenon is the presence of an appearance feature that is startling, with its presumed aim at causing would-be predators a bit of consternation and, thus, to forgo eating the startling individual insect. In quite a few moth species, this startling effect is created by a vague or precise representation of vertebrate eyes, usually one that can be suddenly uncovered. The male Io Moth has both. When at typical rest posture (as above), dark discal patches on the forewings can create the appearance of eyes. However, should a predator ignore that suggestion of a much-larger-and-perhaps-dangerous-to-the-predator animal, the moth flicks spread its forewings to reveal a startlingly strong suggestion of large eyes.

Robin's Carpenterworm (2693)

Prionoxystus robiniae

Family Cossidae (Carpenter and leopard moths), subfamily Cossinae
Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

13 June 2012

Belleplain State Forest HQ

CMMP block F09
Distribution map

There are microleps that are big and there are macroleps that are small. This one is one of the former, just about the largest microlep illustrated in the new Peterson moth guide, with length reaching 45 mm. This is also yet another beast named for its caterpillar (obviously), which bores into wood of a variety of deciduous trees (ash, chestnut, locust, oak, poplar, willow). In places, various species of carpenterworm can be injurious to cultivated trees (such as fig plantations in California). However, Robin's Carpenterworm is a U. S. native and probably does not become a real pest in native habitats.

As might be expected from its wide variety of food plants, the species seems at least fairly widespread in Cape May County; I have seen it in Belleplain S. F. and at Green Creek. The only ones that I've seen have come to lights so, despite its size, it might be a mite difficult to encounter "in the wild."

Checkered Apogeshna (5177)

Apogeshna stenialis

Family Crambidae, subfamily Pyraustinae
Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

6 June 2012

Near Mayville

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Distribution map

This small beast (17 mm wingspan), though strikingly patterned and colored and despite its wide range (Maine s. to Florida and, at least, Illinois s. to Alabama), is very poorly known. The species' page at Bug Guide notes that the habitat is not well known ("Deciduous forests?"); I have encountered it in areas of mostly deciduous forest, dominated by oaks, Sweetgum, Sassafras, and Red Maple, though with some admixture of pine and, of course, the ubiquitous American Holly.


Its life cycle is also unknown. That is, we do not know what its caterpillar looks like, much less what it eats, among nearly all other aspects of its behavior and ecology. The fact that it represents a monotypic genus means that we may not be able to infer much of that unknown life history from congeners, as it has none. In Cape May County, at least, it is not at all rare, as I have seen it in multiple places and on multiple dates. It readily comes to lights and I have also kicked it out of waste places (lots of Haresfoot Clover and a bit of grass) during the day. In fact, one of the individuals that I kicked up is the subject in this post's picture, perched on the underside of a leaf about a foot off the ground (the photo requiring some slow and careful contortions to obtain!). The species joins some 230 other species in North America of the Tribe Spilomelini of the subfamily Pyraustinae of the family Crambidae (the same family that houses the grass-veneers; see Pasture Grass-veneer).

Horned Spanworm (7010)

Nematocampa resistaria

Family Geometridae, subfamily Ennominae
Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

11 June 2012

Green Creek

CMMP block S07
Distribution map

Last night, some Cape May County nature nuts interested in moths gathered for our first moth party of what will, hopefully, become a regular feature. Tiffany Kersten and Sam Galick hosted it at Steve Bauer's house and we had a grand old time. Tiffany painted a couple of trees (one American Holly, one Pitch Pine) with the usual moth-attracting mixture of over-ripe bananas, brown sugar, and beer, and I set up my black light and sheet on the lee side of the house and waited for our nocturnal lepidopteran friends to arrive. So far, we have worked out the identifications of 32 species of moths, and we still have a lot of photographed moths to ID.

One of the highlights was the above Horned Spanworm, one of the many moth species named for its caterpillar, thus providing me with another opportunity to rant about common names. Some, like our spanworm here, do not have the word "moth" included, while others do -- most inconsistent! Additionally, since they are moths, it seems redundant to insert the word "moth" into any particular species' name. That habit is akin to calling Northern Cardinals "Northern Cardinal Birds." Yes, we understand, it's a bird. Granted, moths are nowhere near as well known as are birds, but I do not believe that should play a part in English nomenclature.

The Horned Spanworm is one of the many local species of the Geometridae, another name derived from the caterpillars, which are often known as "inchworms." While the Geometridae, like most moth families, is varied, a large percentage hold their wings out straight and flat (like many butterflies) when perched. Since very few other moths exhibit this posture, one can start with this family whenever one encounters an unknown moth perched with its wings out like this.

Red-lined Panopoda (8587)

Panopoda rufimargo

Family Erebidae, subfamily Eulepidotinae
Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

29 May 2012

Near Belleplain

CMMP block E10
Distribution map

The moth family Erebidae is a large and fairly varied one, split into a number of subfamilies, many of which are represented in Cape May County.  A couple of those subfamilies are fairly widely known, even if for only a species or two, such as  Gypsy Moth (subfamily Lymantriinae) and Isabella Tiger Moth (subfamily Arctiinae). While many of us have heard of the former and know of its devastation of local oak forests, most may never have heard of the latter, though they're undoubtedly seen  many of them, at least in the larval form, known as Wooly Bear. But, I have no picture of either moth, so our introduction into the family will be carried by a poorly-known species, the Red-lined Panopoda. Like the subject species, many groups within the Erebidae are delta-shaped as adults -- that is, quite triangular in shape, and nearly equilateral triangular at that, so the family is a good place to start down the ID-process road when encountering such a beast.

However, the primary focus of this essay is common names. As long as there have been moth guides written that were aimed at least partly at the layman, there have been attempts to coin common names for the various species. When some aspect of a particular species' ecology or behavior was known, it was utilized in naming it, as for the "Waterlily Borer" and the "Clover Looper." Due at least in part to our extensive lack of knowledge about life histories and behaviors of most moth species, even in our relatively well-studied part of the world, such name coiners have taken a couple other tacks when traveling that road. One, and the one that I appreciate, is the tack of whimsy, naming species with monikers such as "The Infant," "The Betrothed," and "The Neighbor." However, as for our subject species, for most, they simply translated the latinized term used for the scientific name as directly as they could manage. For many of those, they did not even bother to translate the genus name, simply using it as is for the group name for that/those species of moth(s).

This tack results in a large number of moth species with common or "English" names made of words that are not, in fact, English. With the long-anticipated publication of the new Peterson guide to the moths of northeastern North America, I had hoped that the authors would attempt to avoid that last naming tack, because laymen are generally turned off by such. To no avail. So until someone grabs that bull by the horns, we are stuck with such mouthfuls as "Fernald's Helcystogramma," "Sooty Lipocosmodes," "Crowned Phlyctaenia," and, of course, "Red-lined Panopoda!"

Shagreened Slug Moth (4669)

Apoda biguttata

Family Limacodidae
Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

28 May 2012

Belleplain S. F. Headquarters

CMMP block F09
Distribution map

This post's subject is the first of, presumably, many to come that holds its butt in the air when perched. This behavior may be an adaptation at avoiding predation by critters that use sight to find food, as the odd posture makes for an odd outline, perhaps convincing some would-be predator that the moth is just some odd bit of detritus, not a juicy tidbit. Whether that is true or not, we may never really know, but the behavior makes for an easy and quick recognition factor when identifying moths. Unfortunately, quite a few moth groups have developed it. So, though nearly all of the slug moths (family Limacodidae) adopt this posture, so do some geometers (Geometridae; see Horned Spanworm) and prominents (Notodontidae), as well as members of other families. On the bright side, a goodly portion of the northeastern North American moths that do "moon" are slug moths, so that family is a good place to start when you encounter such a beast.

The slug moths are another group of microleps, and our focus species here is a small thing (10-15 mm). Despite that, it's a striking beast that can pull your eyeballs off much larger and otherwise-more-enticing moths at your backdoor light.

Pasture Grass-veneer (5363)

Crambus saltuellus

Family Crambidae, subfamily Crambinae
Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

31 May 2012

near Whitesboro

CMMP block S07
Distribution map

The grass-veneers are a difficult group of micro-lepidoptera (microleps), which, themselves, form a difficult group of moths. Microleps are the Empidonax or peeps or gulls of the mothing world, with quite a few moth enthusiasts giving them short shrift or ignoring them altogether. It might have been expected that I find at least some of them -- particularly the grass-veneers -- enticing. The genus Crambus is the type genus of the Crambidae, a surprisingly varied group of very small moths. The 97 species of Crambid illustrated in Beadle and Leckie (see first post on this blog) range in size from 4 mm to 38 mm in length, with most under 15 mm. Just so you know, there are 25.4 mm in an inch.

The grass-veneers form a fairly tight group in the subfamily Crambinae; they are generally long and thin, with long, fuzzy palps extending forward from the face, with the hulking monster of the group (at least of those illustrated in Beadle and Leckie) maxing at a whopping 18 mm. By contrast, this post's subject, Pasture Grass-veneer, averages only 14 mm. Most species for which we know the host plant(s) eat grass as larvae (caterpillars). As adults, they tend to be found in grassy places, perched lengthwise on the underside of a grass leaf (as above). Many of the species have wings with extensive white, which is evident when one gets flushed. If one lands on a horizontal perch (such as the broad leaf of some plant other than grass), it quickly runs to the edge and crawls to the underside of the leaf, there to hide until the next large animal disturbs it. Grass-veneers are also regular visitors to lights, so look for their tiny forms among the hulking brutes of what some term the "regular moths."

Pearly Wood-nymph (9299)

Eudryas unio

Family Noctuidae, subfamily Agaristinae
Photograph copyright by Tiffany Kersten

29 May 2012

Burleigh

CMMP block S07
Distribution map

The Pearly Wood-nymph is a gorgeous critter that I am still waiting to see. However, the photographer found this individual on her car after a nocturnal rain and sent me the picture. Two of the species' known food plants are grape and Virginia Creeper, both of which are abundant in the county, so I still have hopes of seeing it! The new Peterson moths guide notes the flight period for the area covered by the guide (Virginia and Missouri north through Minnesota, central Ontario and Nova Scotia) as June through August. Thus, Tiffany's moth was a bit early, which is not all that unexpected given the very warm winter and spring that we experienced this year.

Imperial Moth (7704)

Eacles imperialis

Family Saturniidae (silkworms), subfamily Ceratocampinae (royal moths)
Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

28 May 2012

Belleplain S. F. Headquarters

CMMP block F09
Distribution map

Imperial Moth is one of the more impressive of the county's moths, with some reaching wingspans of over 6 inches! The precise pattern is quite variable, but the pale yellow visible here is a large part of any individual's color palette. Size, as in most moth species, is variable, with females being larger, in this case often much larger, than are males. Moth hobbyists checking night-lit walls in the morning can be dismayed by finding the wings of Imperial Moths on the ground below the wall; birds often beat us to the really juicy species! In addition to birds, moths attracted to such lighting can be gobbled up by skinks, spiders, and who-knows-what else. So, while lighting can make it much easier for us to find moths, such lighting can be a deathtrap for many moths. So, this is a plea for moderation in running outdoor lighting -- if it attracts moths, have the lighting turn off well before sunrise to give those moths a chance to return to their regularly scheduled programs.

Red-bordered Emerald (7033)

Nemoria lixaria

Family Geometridae, subfamily Geometrinae (emeralds)
Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

27 May 2012

Belleplain S. F. Headquarters

CMMP block F09
Distribution map

This post's primary point is to illustrate the great contributions that amateurs can make to the knowledge of moth distribution. While I first took this to be yet another version of Red-fringed Emerald (more on this in a post about that species that will get done at some point), closer scrutiny revealed a few anomalies. The pattern of the red border, the single black discal spot on each wing, and the color and distribution of the abdominal spots pointed to Red-bordered Emerald. There was only one problem, the new guide by Beadle and Leckie did not map the species as occurring north of central Virginia. However, as the authors of that guide will agree, the maps presented are just gross generalizations of distribution, based on ecoregions (see pp. 16-18) and the existing specimen record. Moths are not birds and have not had the intense following by hobbyists that birds have enjoyed. Thus, the ranges of the vast majority of species are exceedingly poorly known. [17 June 2012 addition: The range map of the species on the Moth Photographer's Group page does show the species as occurring in New Jersey.] Though I knew all this, I would have retained a bit of doubt, but the ID was confirmed on Bug Guide (which I heartily recommend for questions of bug ID). Finally, though moths are known to vagrate (yeah, I know, spellchecker doesn't think that this is a word, but I'm using it anyway), the fact that I found a different, much-more-worn individual at the same site the next day suggests to me that the species is resident here.

Black-waved Flannel (4644)

Megalopyge (Lagoa) crispata

Family Megalopygidae
Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

27 May 2012

Belleplain S. F. Headquarters

CMMP block F09
Distribution map

For the first post on this blog, I considered a number of possible species to present.  I had intended to use Imperial Moth, but ran into the above picture on the way to getting the Imperial Moth photo -- what a cutie!  And so furry!  In late May 2012, Black-waved Flannel Moth was incredibly numerous and outnumbered all other species at the various light sources at and near the headquarters of Belleplain State Forest.

Posts in this venue will be brief, simply presenting a representative picture or pictures of a particular species (with the Hodges number presented in the title in parentheses).  Other bits of information will probably be presented for particular species, particularly details of life history, spatial and temporal distribution in Cape May County, and other odds and ends.