Explorations of an Ecologist: Mothing in Haliburton

A few nights ago I found myself in the Haliburton area, so naturally I had to take the moth light out for a whirl. I had never "mothed" in this part of Ontario before and our moth diversity in the province is pretty incredible (close to 2400 species have been reported on iNaturalist!) so I was hoping to come away with a few new species.

Before the sun crept over the horizon, I noted a few other odds and ends in the general area, and took photos of a few insects and plants. I was especially happy to see my first Green Comma of the year which is a butterfly I have encountered on only a few other occasions.

Bronzed Tiger Beetle - Haiburton area, Ontario

Slender Spreadwing - Haiburton area, Ontario

Autumn Meadowhawk - Haiburton area, Ontario

Variable Dancer - Haiburton area, Ontario

Viceroy - Haiburton area, Ontario

Green Comma - Haiburton area, Ontario

Common Water Strider - Haiburton area, Ontario

Broadleaf Arrowhead - Haiburton area, Ontario

Peck's Skipper - Haiburton area, Ontario

Common Eastern Bumblebee - Haiburton area, Ontario

White-faced Meadowhawk - Haiburton area, Ontario

I tried to be strategic in choosing the location where I would set up the light. I decided on the edge of a open, sandy area, and set up the sheet at the edge of a mature Sugar Maple/American Beech forest that fronted the sandy area. About 50 meters to the south was a meandering watercourse with a very wide riparian corridor that consisted of sedges, grasses and rushes, and which was home to Virginia Rails and American Bitterns. Across the wetland was a Balsam Fir-dominated mixed forest, and this was the most common ecotype in the general area. Given that the light would be visible to moths found in a variety of habitats, I had high hopes for the evening.

Moth sheet setup - Haiburton area, Ontario

As dusk turned into night the moths, caddisflies and other insects began appearing. For much of the evening the action was hot and heavy, with new species appearing on a consistent basis. Just when I would think that I had noted every moth species currently on the sheet, I would check again and there would be a new arrival or two.

The most common moths over the course of the evening were Watermilfoil Leafcutter Moth, Variable Fanfoot, Double-striped Scoparia Moth and Forest Tent Caterpillar Moth, in roughly that order. Watermilfoil Leafcutter Moth is a species typically associated with aquatic plants, which made sense given the presence of the large wetland a few dozen meters away.

Watermilfoil Leafcutter Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Variable Fanfoot - Haiburton area, Ontario

Double-striped Scoparia Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Forest Tent Caterpillar Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

The Watermilfoil Leafcutter Moths were one of several species of aquatic crambids that dominated the sheet. Several of these were new for me - Chestnut-marked Pondweed Moth and Polymorphic Pondweed Moth. Waterlily Leafcutter Moths were also present in decent numbers.

Chestnut-marked Pondweed Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Polymorphic Pondweed Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Waterlily Leafcutter Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

I have always liked grass-veneers, and a nice variety showed up throughout the evening.

Sod Webworm Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Small White Grass-Veneer - Haiburton area, Ontario

Wide-striped Grass-Veneer - Haiburton area, Ontario

Forked Grass-Veneer - Haiburton area, Ontario

Minor Grass-Veneer - Haiburton area, Ontario

This next moth, a Delightful Donacaula Moth, is closely related to the grass-veneers. It dwarfed them all in size.

Delightful Donacaula Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Early on in the evening, several large, flashy non-moths caught my attention. The first is a Roundneck Sexton Beetle, a type of carrion beetle, and a large batch of attending mites (genus Poecilochirus).

Roundneck Sexton Beetle - Haiburton area, Ontario

Northern Bush Kaydid - Haiburton area, Ontario

Giant Casemaker Caddisfly sp. - Haiburton area, Ontario

A rustling beside the moth sheet was caused by a Northern Leopard Frog. Perhaps it was looking for an easy meal?

Northern Leopard Frog - Haiburton area, Ontario

Most of the moths that appeared at the sheet were on the smaller side, who needed to be photographed with a macro lens in order for one to appreciate their shapes and patterns. Below are some of the more unique ones.

Olethreutes valdanum - Haiburton area, Ontario

Reticulated Fruitworm Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Broad-banded Eulogia Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Derilect Pelochrista Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Archips sp. - Haiburton area, Ontario

Pink-washed Leafroller Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Hoffman's Cochylid Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Pale Lichen Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Given the impressive diversity of moths that showed up at the sheet, there were several species that really grabbed my attention. A single sphinx moth appeared on the ground under the sheet near the end of the evening and it eventually made its way to the sheet.

Twin-spotted Sphinx Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Below are a few other interesting moths that were new to me, each spectacular in its own right.

Hologram Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Lettered Habrosyne Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Praeclara Underwing Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

White Furcula Moth - Haiburton area, Ontario

Apical Prominent - Haiburton area, Ontario

With all the moths around I did not photograph too many of the other insects, except for some of the big, flashy ones. Below are a few of the non-moths found throughout the evening.

Golden-eyed Lacewing - Haiburton area, Ontario

Biting Midge (Ceratopogonidae) sp. - Haiburton area, Ontario

Lebia tricolor - Haiburton area, Ontario

Alfalfa Plant Bug - Haiburton area, Ontario

Ichneumonid Wasp (Ichneumonidae) sp. - Haiburton area, Ontario

Serica sp. - Haiburton area, Ontario

Limonia sp. - Haiburton area, Ontario

Scaphoideus sp. - Haiburton area, Ontario

Dusky Stink Bug - Haiburton area, Ontario

Small Square-gilled Mayfly (Caenidae) sp. - Haiburton area, Ontario

I finished with around 85 moth species photographed by the time that I wrapped up, shortly after midnight. I'll finish this post with some photos of some of the other moths that did appear above.