Roads End Naturalist

Exploring the natural world as we wander at the end of the road

Seek, and Ye Shall Find

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Mike Dunn Avatar
Mike Dunn

The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.

~Confuscius

This past month, I have tried to find 5 or 10 minutes each day at work to walk around the building breezeways to photograph any moths that were attracted to the lights the previous night. I hope to create a library of images of some of the common species. As I have reported before, I am relatively new to “mothing” and am still struggling to learn some of the more than 2600 reported species in NC. The release of the Peterson Field Guide to the Moths of Southeastern North America last year has made a huge difference in my ability to identify what I find. My copy is already showing signs of wear from the frequent page-flipping. I also refer to the Moths of North Carolina or Bug Guide web sites to confirm an identification.

Now I have another ally in my quest to learn more. It may be a game-changer, in fact. It is the Seek app by iNaturalist. Using the millions of observations on iNaturalist, Seek shows you lists of commonly recorded insects, birds, plants, amphibians, and more in your area. You don’t even need to take a photo, just open the camera and scan whatever you want to know more about. It instantly gives you information, and if it can’t ID it, it may suggest looking at the subject from a different angle. It is usually at least gets you to the family level or beyond even if it doesn’t ID to species. This free app is available for both iOS and Android. I have found it to be particularly useful for moth identification, most likely due to the countless recorded observations of several local moth enthusiasts. In order to get the best possible image, I usually take the photo with my normal camera set-up (100mm macro and twin flash), download the image onto my laptop, and then scan it with my phone and the Seek app for ID help.

I have double-checked many of the early identifications using the other references mentioned and found them to be accurate. A few times, Seek has not been able to provide anything but a family recommendation. But, overall, I have been very impressed with the results thus far.

Here are a few of the highlights from this past month. Note the variety of shapes, colors, and patterns. One thing you can’t tell from these images is the huge range in size – the Common Tan Wave has a wing span of about 20mm while that of the Io moth is about 80mm.

Canadian Melanolophia moth, Melanolophia canadaria 1
Canadian Melanolophia moth, Melanolophia canadaria (click photos to enlarge)
Confused Eusarca, Eusarca confusaria
Confused Eusarca, Eusarca confusaria
Black-dotted ruddy moth, Ilexia intractata
Black-dotted ruddy moth, Ilexia intractata
Common tan wave, Pleuropucha insulsaria
Common tan wave, Pleuropucha insulsaria
Baltimore snout, Hypena baltimoralis 1
Baltimore snout, Hypena baltimoralis – one of the more striking species this month
Delicate Cycnia moth, Cycnia tenera
Delicate Cycnia moth, Cycnia tenera
Dark-spotted Palthis moth, Palthis angulalis
Dark-spotted Palthis moth, Palthis angulalis
Ambiguous moth, Lascoria ambigualis
Ambiguous moth, Lascoria ambigualis
Curved-line angle, Digrammia continuata
Curved-line angle, Digrammia continuata
Ironweed root moth, Polygammodes flavidalis
Ironweed root moth, Polygammodes flavidalis – a delicate beauty with hints of iridescence
One-spotted variant, Hypagyrtis unipunctata
One-spotted variant moth, Hypagyrtis unipunctata  – quite variable indeed
Tulip-tree beauty 1
Tulip-tree beauty, Epimecis hortaria – a common bark mimic
White-marked tussock moth, Orgyia leucostigma
White-marked tussock moth, Orgyia leucostigma
Eastern grass tubeworm moth, Acrolophus plumifrontella 3
Eastern grass tubeworm moth, Acrolophus plumifrontella – a very common species right now
Variable oakleaf caterpillar moth, Lochmaeus manteo
Variable oakleaf caterpillar moth, Lochmaeus manteo
Oblique-banded leafroller moth, Choristoneura rosaceana
Oblique-banded leafroller moth, Choristoneura rosaceana
Southern flannel moth, Megalopyge opercularis
Southern flannel moth, Megalopyge opercularis – this is the adult form of the puss moth caterpillar
Juniper twig geometer, Patalene olyzonaria
Juniper geometer moth, Patalene olyzonaria
Large maple spanworm moth, Prochoerodes lineola
Large maple spanworm moth, Prochoroedes lineata
Io moth, Automeris io
Io moth, Automeris io – a large female
Io moth, Automeris io with wings spread
Io moth, Automeris io, with wings spread to reveal the false eye spots

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Comments

10 responses to “Seek, and Ye Shall Find”

  1. Deb Hanson Avatar
    Deb Hanson

    What a great collection of photos. You and Clyde need to get together – I think he has 540+ species in his personal porchlight project so far! I, too, am loving the SEEK app. That Common Tan Wave moth has the best camouflage I’ve seen in a while!

    Reply
    1. roadsendnaturalist Avatar
      roadsendnaturalist

      Thanks, Deb. Sorry I didn’t get to meet him at the Garden recently. By the way, been enjoying your recent posts as well.

      Reply
      1. Deb Hanson Avatar
        Deb Hanson

        Thanks. We will have to get you two together one of these days.

  2. Feather Phullips Avatar
    Feather Phullips

    Thanks Mike, what beautiful patterns and colors. It would be fun to paint them.

    Reply
    1. roadsendnaturalist Avatar
      roadsendnaturalist

      Agreed. Or maybe clothing patterns? Thanks, Feather.

      Reply
  3. garywbaird Avatar
    garywbaird

    Hey Mike, I haven’t checked in with Roads End in a while and it just popped up in my email today. Pretty impressive the way you have jumped in to mothing with both feet. Thanks for the tip on the Seek app. I will definitely check it out. When you said you had gone back to work I just assumed you went back to the museum. I was surprised to see that you are at the Botanical Gardens, but that makes more sense. I did make it all the way through your image gallery and was totally impressed by the quality and variety of images. Everything from macro insects to hyperactive warblers was top notch. Congrats. You have a standing invite to Baird’s Beach Cabana. I’ve gotten pretty familiar with all of the bird hangouts in the area. Sue and I are staying active. We have driven to all but 4 of the contiguous United States in the last 7 years. Having Madeline and the grandkids in Denver gives us a good excuse to head west from time to time. Hope you and Melissa are doing well. Cheers, Gary PS- Thanks for the recommendation of Neil Jernigan as our guide for our CNPA outing to Pungo. He did a great job and the group loved him.

    On Sun, Jun 30, 2019 at 9:34 AM Roads End Naturalist wrote:

    > roadsendnaturalist posted: “The beginning of wisdom is to call things by > their proper name. ~Confuscius This past month, I have tried to find 5 or > 10 minutes each day at work to walk around the building breezeways to > photograph any moths that were attracted to the lights the previ” >

    Reply
    1. roadsendnaturalist Avatar
      roadsendnaturalist

      Thanks for the feedback, Gary. Glad the trip with Neil worked out for you. He’s a good guy and a really good photographer. Hoping to re-retire in January. But my Dad just passed away so now dealing with all that and trying to figure out what is best for Mom. Lots to do…take care.

      Reply
  4. thecedarjournal Avatar
    thecedarjournal

    These are wonderful! Amazing what happens to be flying after dark. The app sounds very handy too. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  5. Mary Kay Coyle Avatar
    Mary Kay Coyle

    Really wonderful photos, and thanks for the info about the app!

    Reply
    1. roadsendnaturalist Avatar
      roadsendnaturalist

      Thanks, Mary Kay, and you are welcome re the app.

      Reply

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Roads End Naturalist

Exploring the natural world as we wander at the end of the road

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