Oh, What a Night!

Oh, what a night!

"No way!" said entomologist Joel Hernandez when a giant silkworm moth fluttered into his backlighting setup on Saturday night, July 18 during the annual Bohart Museum of Entomology Moth Night. 

For the occasion, Hernandez, a UC Davis alumnus and agricultural inspector in the Yolo County Ag Commissioner's Office, set up a blacklighting display from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m.  in the Shields Oak Grove, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, where he drew scores of moths.

"This giant silkworm moth was the highlight of the evening," said Bohart research associate John "Moth Man" de Benedictus.  "Joel cried out 'No way!' when it flew in and there was a roar from the visitors.  It landed quietly on the drop cloth beneath the sheets providing a photo op.  Joel collected it alive and caged it, giving everyone an opportunity to look at it closely."

"The event," said Hernandez, "was a huge success, with plenty of visitors making observations on the sheet. The surprise to everyone, including myself, was a polyphemus moth making an appearance at the sheet! It was very cool to share that moment with the public and see everyone’s excitement match my own."

Said de Benedictus: "It is probably more common than collection records suggest in Davis because the peak flight is in the wee hours of the morning, so unseen by most people.  Most of the moths that are encountered earlier in the evening are females as was the case with the one that came to Joel's sheet.  There are at least two generations per year--possibly three in our region.  It is found across the continent and feeds on many trees and shrubs.  Joel thinks oaks are the most common foodplant in Davis.

Hernandez's set-up consisted of of "two overlapping sheets with the west-facing sides illuminated by a mercury vapor light and a coil of LED UV lights," de Benedictus commented. "The east-facing side was illuminated by another coil of UV lights and a fluorescent tube that emitted UV and white light.  Many more moths flew in than on any Moth NIght set-ups probably due to being distant from any campus lighting.  It also drew far more spectators than any previous Moth Night.  They crowded around the sheets photographing and collecting some of the insects that flew in.  It was often difficult to get close to the sheet because of the spectators, so this is probably an incomplete list of species that flew to the sheets."  

De Benedictus identified the moths and provided these comments:

Family: Gelechiidae  
1 Chionodes ochreostrigella.  "No common name.  A small moth that feeds on Rumex that I've collected at various times of the year in my yard."

Family: Plutellidae  
 1 Plutella xyxlostella.  "Diamondback moth.  A small cosmopolitan pest of cruciferous plants that can be encounter throughout much of the year but is most abundant in late fall and late winter to early spring."

Family: Tortridae
5-10 Cydia latiffereana.  "Filbertworm moth.  A pest of hazelnuts (aka filberts), that mainly feeds on acorns in our area.  Flies from spring through early fall."

1 Clepsis peritana.  "Garden tortrix.  Feeds on a wide range of low-growing plants and can be a pest of strawberries.  It is abundant in my yard from late winter through fall."

1 Henricus umbrabasana.  "No common name.  Feeds on oaks.  Adults are found from late spring through summer.  Last night, all were on the east-facing side of the sheet." 

Family: Crambidae 
15-20 Euchromius ocellea.  "Necklace or Belted-grass Venneer.  This is a cosmopolitan species that feeds on a range of grasses and grains including corn and sorghum.  It is almost identical to a western species E. californicalis that I've rarelly collected in Davis.  All were on the west-facng side of the sheets."

Family:  Geometridae
About 5 Digrammia species.  "I was only able to identify one of the moths to species.  It was D. californiaria, California Granite.  There are a few other Digrammia species flying now that are difficult to identify unless they are collected or sitting quietly on the sheet with their wings outstretched.   This didn't happen very often because of the many visitors approaching them as they flew to the sheet."

2 Eupithecia species.  "Pug Moths.  The most common species flying now is E. misturata but there are many other specis in the genus known from Davis.  All are small gray or brownish-gray narrow-winged moths with darker markings.  E. misturata has a long flight period and feeds on a broad range of plants." 

Family:  Saturniidae
1 Anthaeraea polyphemus.  "Polyphemus moth.  This giant silkworm moth was the highlight of the evening.   It landed quietly on the drop cloth beneath the sheets providing a photo op.  Joel collected it alive and caged it giving everyone an opportunity to look at it closely.  It is probably more common than collection records suggest in Davis because the peak flight is in the wee hours of the morning, so unseen by most people.  Most of the moths that are encountered earlier in the evening are females as was the case with the one that came to Joel's sheet.  At least two generations per year.  Possibly three in our region.  It is found across the continent and feeds on many trees and shrubs.  Joel thinks oaks are the most common foodplant in Davis." 

Familly:  Noctuidae.
1 Autographa californica.  "Alfalfa Looper.  This is a common moth that that is in the subfamily of noctuids called "semiloopers".  (True loopers are geometrids.)  It feeds on a wide range of plants and can be a pest of alfalfa.  I've collected it throughout much of the year in Davis."

Various cutworm moths
1 Proxenus mindata/  Larvae are called "rough-skinned cutworms."  Common in Davis where there is probably also a similar-looking species P. miranda. 

About 5 Agrotis ipsilon.  Larvae are known as "black cutworms," adults have various common names.  Sometimes abundant in Davis, flying from late winter through fall.  

2 Feltia subterranea.  Larvae are called "granulae cutworms." 

"All the cutworm moths feed on a wide range of hosts and can be minor to major pests, especially when there are outbreaks," de Benedictus said. "There were at least two other Noctuidae species that I was unable to identify or collect.  I suspect that others were reluctant to land on the sheet due to the many visitors around the sheet." 

Inside the Bohart Museum, visitors viewed a global collection of moths shown by Lepidoptera curator Jeff Smith and Greg Kareofelas, examined moths under a microscope, learned about silk moths from Turkish doctor Ismail Seker, about moth migration from UC Davis doctoral student Peter Coggan, made moth antennae head bands, and got acquainted with stick insects and Madagascar hissing cockroaches from the live petting zoo. Chalk art took place on the walkways in front of the Bohart Museum, where attendees tried their hand at creating moths and other insects. 

The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, annually marks National Moth Week, which this year is July 18=26. 

Located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis,  it is the home of a global collection of eight million insect specimens; a live petting zoo (including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantulas) and an insect-themed gift shop, stocked with T-shirts, hoodies, books, posters, jewelry, stuffed toy animals, and insect-collecting equipment.

Director of the Bohart Museum is Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair of Systematics. He is the executive associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and president of the American Arachnological Society. For more information, access the website or contact [email protected].