Sunday, March 20, 2011

Moths at the Light

I have run my moth light three times over the past two weeks in the hope of attracting some early season moths. The first session, on March 8th, was mostly a bust, with no moths and not even midges or gnats. In the second session, on March 11th, I recorded one moth, a Spring Cankerworm (Paleacrita vernata), in two and a half hours of running the light. That moth is shown below. It came towards the end of the session after the temperature had dropped to 43°F.

On the day of my third session, March 18th, the daytime temperature had risen to 77°F, so I expected to see a few moths. However, I only saw one micromoth, pictured below. I think it is a Palmerworm Moth (Dichomeris ligulella), a species I first encountered last fall. That species is active from early spring through late fall.