Tuesday Night Moth Club

You know you love your job when you want to be there even when you're not getting paid! The true "nerds" have come out in Alisha and myself--because we have decided to start a Tuesday Night Moth Club. It was a joke at first, but we kept talking about it and seeing a moth or two here and there. Did you know there are 1700 species of moths that can be found here in NC? That fact was too much of a lure for us--like moths to the flame--we just couldn't help ourselves. We (or rather, my dear husband) strapped a sheet between two giant Loblolly Pines right below the education building, and my brother and his family (I come from a long line of nature nerds) brought his blacklight. We got everything ready at 8:30 pm and waited. And waited. And waited. "Snake!" My niece spotted the grass moving nearby and we barely snapped this shot of a Red-bellied(?) snake slithering away very quickly. We were starting to think all of our effort had been in vain. The anticipation was KILLING us! It wasn't until about ten minutes after nine--when true darkness prevailed--that the show began. And what a show it was!! It looked like the Arctic Tundra with all the gnats, caddisflies, and little-who-knows-whats flying around in a frenzy! It was so cool! Below is our configuration once we got going good . . . .

These Mayflies were a surprise for us. I had no idea that they were so beautiful! I've seen them before but not this species. I looked it up on http://www.bugguide.net/ and it says it is a Hexagenia species. There were five or six on each side of the sheet.

We were also surprised to find this Grapevine Beetle (Pelidnota punctata). I didn't think beetles were active at night. We took this one inside the building so the kids could see it in "real" light. They all thought is was so cool. Then we let it go. It flew right back to the sheet--imagine that!

And here begins the procession of moths. We have no clue as to their names (for now). I have already spent a couple hours looking through an old moth book I've had for a long time. The problem with that, though, is that it was printed in 1903 and it shows all the moths with their wings open. We all know that all moths don't open their wings when they are sitting. I just need to spend some more on-line time on BugGuide and see what I can find out . . .
[This one, I believe is a Common Gray (below)]

This one was beautiful with its carolina blue hindwings . . .

The Grand-daddies were in heaven running around everywhere snatching little snacks.

This one shouldn't be too hard to identify . . .

This one is a Woodgrain Leafroller (Pandemis lamprosana) below. . .

Here is a close-up of the half-a-million bugs who were trying to get into our lungs. We had to talk with our mouths closed!

[This one I believe is a Common Lytrosis (below)]

This moth was the only one we knew (below)! It was so big that we thought it was a bat when it first flew into the light!!!! It is a Tuliptree Silkmoth. Alisha and I found a dead one several weeks ago and identified it.

We quit at 10:15 pm. We all had a great time! And I think we shall continue our Tuesday Night Moth Club in the future. So, if you are interested, let me know. We'd be happy to have you. Just don't wear a white shirt!