Explorations of an Ecologist: 2021 Part 4: Moths And Other Nightlife

In the summer of 2019 I developed an addiction with the purchase of my first black light and later, a LepiLED bug light. The addiction took hold and though I tried to contain it by focusing on birds, butterflies or herps, it kept coming back with a vengeance. 2021 was my first full year of mothing in Ontario. I started early in the year (my first session was way back on March 10th!) and kept going unitl mid-September, when Laura and I left for Panama. Late night mothing sessions combined with early morning bird surveys is not a pleasant combo but it was all worth it in the end. I finished the year with around 1,100 species of moths in Ontario including over 300 that I had never seen before.

Luna Moth (Actias luna)

Mothing is an activity that can be done anywhere, even in a suburban backyard. I’m all for naturalizing opportunities that can be done in your backyard with a beer in hand! Because of the impressive diversity here in Ontario, rarely did an evening pass without a few novel species appearing.

Inimical Borer Moth (Pseudogalleria inimicella)

Though I mothed frequently with the LepiLED during the summers of 2019 and 2020, I bolstered my setup this year and purchased a black light tube and another sheet/rope set. This enabled me to have two lights set up at all times. I could place them in different habitats a short distance away, and walk between the two setups, back and forth, as the evening progressed.

Moth setups - Greater Sudbury District, Ontario

To give you an example of the impressive diversity in southern Ontario, below are the species totals from several locations, in relatively few nights of searching.

-Sudden Tract in North Dumfries Township, Waterloo Region: 527 species in 15 visits

-Manester Tract, St. Williams, Norfolk County: 305 species in 3 visits

-my parents’ yard in suburban Cambridge, Waterloo Region: 302 species throughout the summer

Moonseed Moth (Plusiodonta compressipalpis)

Moths are not the only taxa that appear at the sheet. Beetles, flies, arachnids, orthopterans, caddisflies and much, much, MUCH more will also show up to the party. With the aid of a macro lens, one can enter this incredibly vast, diverse world. Below are just a few of the non-moths that I photographed. I could write a whole post just on the leafhoppers of 2021 for example, but to save time I will only post a few highlights.

Say's Mantidfly (Dicromantispa sayi)

A type of leafhopper, Erythroneura delicata

Mating Northern Walkingsticks (Diapheromera femorata)

Large Chestnut Weevil (Curculio proboscideus)

Brown Prionid Beetle (Orthosoma brunneum)

Below, I have listed the Ontario moth families and have indicated how many species I photographed from that family in 2021. I have added a few representative photos of my favourite species.

Eriocraniidae - Sparkling Archaic Sun Moths

1 species

Hepialidae - Swift Moths

1 species

Nepticulidae - Pygmy Moths

3 species

Asian Elm Leafminer Moth (Stigmella multispicata)

Opostegidae - Eye-cap Moths

1 species

Prodoxidae - Yucca Moths

1 species

Yucca Moth (Tegeticula yuccasella) (tentative identification)

Tineidae - Fungus and Clothes Moths

15 species

This was a banner year for me, as in 2020 I only managed 10 species. The undisputed highlight was the following moth from Sudden Tract, which appears to be Homosetia costisignella. This is a new species for Ontario.

Homosetia costisignella

Bucculatricidae - Ribbed Cocoon-making Moths

3 species

Bucculatrix speciosa (tentative ID)

Gracillariidae - Leafblotch Miner Moths

33 species

These tiny moths are a favourite of mine even though many of them can't easily be assigned to species from photos alone. My favourite find from 2021 was from my parents backyard - a rare, relatively large species called Caloptilia murtfeldtella which I have wanted to see for a while.

Caloptilia murtfeldtella

Yponomeutidae - Ermine Moths

2 species

Pine Needle Sheathminer (Zelleria haimbachi)

Ypsolophidae

2 species

Plutellidae - Diamandback Moths

2 species

Dame's Rocket Moth (Plutella porrectella)

Glyphipterigidae - Sedge and False Diamondback Moths

3 species

This next moth is a rare one in Ontario with just a few records. No doubt its small size and relatively drab colouration contributes to its perceived scarcity.

Acrolepiopsis leucoscia

Argyresthiidae - Shiny Headstand Moths

5 species

Attevidae – Tropical Ermine Moths

1 species

Ailanthus Webworm Moth (Atteva aurea)

Autostichidae - Autostichid Moths

2 species

Oecophoridae - Concealer Moths

3 species

A night of mothing near Sudbury in early June provided many of the year's highlights. I set up the lights in excellent habitat, next to a pristine river and with a wide diversity of plants in the immediate vicinity. I probably photographed 30 or 40 species that I had never seen before, including two that had never been reported before in Ontario. Below is one of them, a tiny but beautiful concealer moth. Others have tentatively identified this as a Denisia species, which is a genus that has never been confirmed in Ontario. The jury is still out on this one!

Denisia sp.?

Depressariidae – Flat-bodied Moths

16 species

Viper's Bugloss Moth (Ethmia bipunctella)

This next moth was recently added to the Ontario list when a specimen was collected in Toronto. I photographed several individuals at Short Hills Provincial Park in the spring of 2021 that seemed like a perfect match for this species. It feeds on mostly on bonesets (Eupatorium), an abundant plant where I found these moths.

Agonopterix eupatoriiella

Cosmopterigidae - Cosmet Moths

10 species

In late July I joined Moe Bottos for a night of sugaring trees for underwing moths in King's Forest, Hamilton. While the underwing show was incredible, my favourite moth of the night was something much smaller. This moth appears to be Stagmatophora wyatella, a new species for Canada. Again, the disclaimer that some of these moths are not easily identified from photos applies here as well. But it appears to be a perfect match from the searching I have done.

Stagmatophora wyatella

Kermes Scale Moth (Euclemensia bassettella)

Gelechiidae - Twirler Moths

49 species

This next family of moths is impressively diverse and will likely undergo considerable taxonomic revision in the future. Like all of the moth families exhibited so far, they are a type of micro-moth (my favourite). It is much easier to find significant records, such as new country records, if you focus on the micros. Many individuals have to be left at the genus level due to difficulties in their identification.

Isophrictis anteliella

Pale-headed Aspen Leafroller (Anacampsis niveopulvella)

Elachistidae – Grass Miner Moths

4 species

Apple Pith Moth (Blastodacna atra)

Coleophoridae – Casebearer Moths

5 species

Batrachedidae - Batrachedid Moths

1 species

Scythrididae - Flower Moths

2 species

This moth is in the genus Landryia. It has yet to be described formally.

Landryia sp.

Blastobasidae – Blastobasid Moths

5 species

Momphidae – Mompha Moths

4 species

Enchanter's Cosmet Moth (Mompha terminella)

Pterophoridae – Plume Moths

14 species

Rose Plume Moth (Cnaemidophorus rhododactyla)

Carposinidae - Fruitworm Moths

1 species

Crescent-marked Bondia (Bondia crescentella)

Schreckensteiniidae – Bristle-legged Moths

1 species

Epermeniidae - Erpemeniid Moths

1 species

Choreutidae - Metalmark Moths

1 species

Galacticidae – Galacticid Moths

1 species

Tortricidae – Bell and Leafroller Moths

200 species

This is another incredibly diverse family of moths in Ontario. Many are leafrollers, named for the characteristic behaviour of the larvae. Quite a few are host-specific, but there are a number of widespread species that will utilize a variety of plant species. I was fortunate to come across a number of rare or poorly known species during 2021. This is often not a function of their true status, but simply because fewer people are seeking them out.

Fern Olethreutes Moth (Olethreutes osmundana)

Three-streaked Sparganothis (Sparganothis tristriata)

Eucosma autumnana

Earlier in this post I mention an incredible night of mothing near Sudbury. The other rarity that I found was this tiny individual - Cydia marita - that represents the first record for Canada.

Cossidae – Carpenter and Leopard Moths

1 species

Little Carpenterworm Moth (Prionoxystus macmurtrei)

Sesiidae – Clearwing Moths

1 species

Maple Callus Borer Moth (Synanthedon acerni)

Epipyropidae - Planthopper Parasite Moths

1 species

Last summer, several other naturalists and I found the first records of this family in Canada, in and around the Ojibway Prairie Complex in Windsor and LaSalle, Ontario. It is unusual amongst Lepidoptera in that the larvae from this family are parasitic, attaching themselves to adult planthoppers and feeding on them.

While visiting my friend Russ Jones in Amherstburg this August, we had an adult of the same species, and another "mother", Mark Nenadov, found one a few weeks later in Kingsville. Clearly, this species is either spreading throughout Essex County or it is much more widespread than previously thought.

Planthopper Parasite Moth (Fulgoraecia exigua)

Limacodidae – Slug Caterpillar Moths

11 species

Shagreened Slug Moth (Apoda biguttata)

Zygaenidae – Burnet Moths

1 species

Thyrididae - Window-winged Moths

1 species

Pyralidae – Pyralid Snout Moths

50 species

Zeller's Macalla Moth (Macalla zelleri)

Crambidae – Snout and Grass Moths

96 species

This is a hugely diverse family of moths in the tropics, though unsurprisingly, there are many fewer species in North America. Crambidae is one of my favourite families due to the unique behaviours of some larvae, the wide variety of shapes and colours of adults, and the propensity of several species to show up out of range in the autumn. My favourite crambid of the year was a rare autumn migrant called the Belted Grass-Veneer that appeared at Russ Jones' property in Amherstburg during my August visit.

Sooty-winged Chalcoela (Chalcoela iphitalis)

Belted Grass-Veneer (Euchromius ocellea)

Raspberry Pyrausta Moth (Pyrausta signatalis)

Black Grass-Veneer (Neodactria caliginosellus)

Drepanidae – Hooktip and False Owlet Moths

4 species

Rose Hooktip (Oreta rosea)

Lasiocampidae - Tent Caterpillars and Lappet Moths

5 species

Large Tolype Moth (Tolype velleda)

Apatelodidae - American Silkworm Moths

1 species

Spotted Apatelodes Moth (Apatelodes torrefacta)

Saturniidae - Giant Silkworm Moths

8 species

These are the most well-known of our moths, and for good reason. They are large, colourful and spectacular, and include iconic species like the Io Moth, Luna Moth and Cecropia Moth. I saw my share of this family, mainly because I spent many nights mothing in May and June when they are most frequent. I observed one species in this family for the first time (the Pink-striped Oakworm Moth). One of my most-wanted moths is a member of this family - the Tulip Tree Silkmoth (Callosamia angulifera).

Promethea Silkmoth (Callosamia promethea

Io Moth (Automeris io)

Pink-striped Oakworm Moth (Anisota virginiensis)

Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus)

Sphingidae – Sphinx Moths

18 species

Another fan favourite is Sphingiidae, the Sphinx Moths. Though I saw fewer species this year compared to 2021, there were some interesting ones, including my first Abbott's Sphinx and Five-spotted Hawk Moth.

Laurel Sphinx (Sphinx kalmiae)

Five-spotted Hawk Moth (Manduca quinquemaculatus)

Diervella Clearwing (Hemaris aethra)

Small-eyed Sphinx (Paonias myops)

Uraniidae – Swallowtail Moths

1 species

Geometridae – Geometer Moths

136 species

This huge family of moths is found throughout the world.

Orange-barred Carpet Moth (Dysstroma hersiliata)

Chevron Moth (Eulithis testata)

Oak Beauty (Phaeoura quernaria) - melanistic form

This next photo is not great quality, but I was pleased to see this rarely reported species of emerald moth in Ontario.

Red-fronted Emerald (Nemoria rubrifrontaria)

Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata)

The Orange Wing (Mellilla xanthometata)

Notodontidae – Prominent Moths

30 species

Finned-willow Prominent Moth (Notodonta scitipennis)

Morning-glory Prominent (Schizura ipomaeae)

Erebidae – Tiger, Tussock and Underwing Moths

140 species

We are nearing the end of this post with just four families remaining. Up next is Erebidae. Quite a few popular moths are included here, many which vary wildly in shape, colour, and pattern. Indeed, if I had to make a list of my top 20 Ontario moths, a large percentage would probably be from Erebidae. It was terribly difficult to narrow down my photos to just a few.

In late June, I joined several others on the inaugural Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary Bioblitz in Kingsville, Essex County. The mothing was productive with the highlight being a rare Moon-lined Moth (Spiloloma lunilinea), a stray to Ontario whose caterpillars feed on Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos).

Moon-lined Moth (Spiloloma lunilinea)

Moth aficionados may recall that in 2020 I discovered a rare underwing moth at Sudden Tract: the Graceful Underwing (Catocala gracilis). In 2021 a repeat of this incident occurred as I found another one at the same location, this time on July 22 (it was August 5 in 2020). While this species was already on the Ontario list, these two reports are the only records that I have been able to determine. Graceful Underwings feed on Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), a plant commonly found in the wetland complex at Sudden Tract.

Graceful Underwing (Catocala gracilis)

Scarlet-winged Lichen Moth (Hypoprepia miniata)

Figure-seven Moth (Drasteria grandirena)

Arge Moth (Apantesis arge)

Praeclara Underwing (Catocala praeclara)

Pink-legged Tiger Moth (Spilosoma latipennis)

Pink Underwing (Catocala concumbens)

Euteliidae – Euteliid Moths

4 species

One of my favourite finds of the year was the Beautiful Eutelia Moth (Eutelia pucherrimus), a scarce species whose caterpillars feed on Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix). I had suspected that it was present at Sudden Tract because Poison Sumac is common there and on June 5th I was rewarded.