February 2016 - Yorkeys Knob, Australia (1 Viewer)

Dom F · Feb 4, 2016

Another month and another thread. I have re-named this as I trap in just a minute corner of this vast country especially as the moth fauna here probably has as much in common as PGN as it does with the rest of the country - as the moth flies Port Morseby (PNG capital) is a mere 829km to my north where as Brisbane (my state capital) is 1717km to my south and Canberra (Australian capital) is 2542km to my south!
I try to put the highlights from each month in, this will be default mean that there is some duplication of species between each month, if people would prefer that I only put new species for the year in then please let me know and I will try and put fewer duplicates in!
Anyway on to the moths - the month has started rather well so there are five updates today...
Part I - Sphingids

Agrius convolvuli - I have caught both of the colour forms that I see here. The more uniform individual is by far the commonest form accounting for 70-80% of all convolvuli I catch.
Macrgoglossum hirundo - not a common visitor to the garden, only the third I have seen
Theretra latreillii - the commonest and along with tryoni, probably the least impressive of the Theretra I catch
Theretra margarita similar to the next species but separated by, among other things, the single stripe on the abdomen.
Theretra oldenlandiae similar to the previous species but has a double stripe on the abdomen

Dom F · Feb 4, 2016

Part II - Geometrinae

I have had an excellent start to the month for this group of very attractive moths with eight species last night alone.

Agathiopsis maculata - this female was a new species for me
Anisozyga pieroides - female, was having a camera malfunction with this one and despite taking multiple photos did not manage a singel decent shot. I cathc this one quite frequently though so should have a few more opportunities
Eucyclodes goniota - male; a rather scarce species in the garden with just a handful of records
Hemithea doddi - I struggle with the Hemithea, I think that this is doddi not wuka
Prasinocyma rhodocosma - think that this is correct but on BOLD there are over 98 known but currently undescribed Prasinocyma listed for Australia and I may have missed a similar species out of that lot!

Dom F · Feb 4, 2016

Part III

Comostola sp (Geometrinae) - a widespread but currently undescribed species - mothing friends of mine close to Brisbane catch this moth occasionally.
Hypodoxa emiliaria (Geometrinae) - one of the several Australian species that highlight the dangers of giving groups generic names- Geometrinae are universally called Emeralds, which implies that they are green or have green in them, many of the Hypodoxa have more green than red in them (particularly on the underside)
Oxycophina theorina (Thyrididae) - have seen this stunning Thyrididae several times the last three months
Antictenia punctunculus (Oenochrominae) - not a common visitor to the garden.
Crithote pannicula (Catocalinae) - a new species for me

Dom F · Feb 4, 2016

Part IV

Glyphodes bicolor (Spilomelinae) - one of the less common Glyphodes that I catch, I think this is only the fourth time I have seen it
Metasia zinckenialis (Pyraustinae) - a new species for me
Meyrickella torquesauria (Hypeninae) - another new species for me and one that I have wanted to catch for quite some time, a beautiful moth
Periopta diversa (Agaristinae) - the first time I have been able to photograph this species
Xanthodes transversa (Chloephorinae) - there are several species of Xanthodes in the area but this is the only one I catch regularly

Dom F · Feb 4, 2016

Part V
A few of the non-moths from the last three nights:

Antlion spp (Neuroptera) - there have been at least three different species so far this month, this one was by far the largest I have ever seen.
Grasshopper spp (Orthoptera) - not managed to get round to IDing this yet; there is not a single field guide to this large and diverse group here so it is quite a struggle at times even narrowing them down to genus
Bark Mantid (Mantodea) - one of several similar species, catch this quite regularly
Burying Mantis - Sphodropoda tristis (Mantodea) - a common species in the garden
Neomantis australis (Mantodea) - a very attractive species that I see occasionally

Dom F · Feb 5, 2016

The last couple of nights have been excellent and the weekend is looking good as well! I am only half way through IDing things but there are still enough goodies to make up five posts again today....

Part I - Acontiinae

The Acontia are a genus that I encounter rarely so last night was a major surprise when I had eight individuals from four species - they are all exceedingly variable and there is a possibility that a couple of these IDs may change and they probably needed to be confirmed by dissection but for an amateur such as myself this as good as I can get:

Acontia clearana - only recorded this on a couple of occasions
Acontia crocata - only the second record of this for the garden
Acontia nivipicta x2 - probably the most variable of all the species
Acontia thapsina - the species that I record most frequently, although with only ten records that's not saying much!

Dom F · Feb 5, 2016

Part II - Spilomelinae

This family within Crambidae is such a diverse group!
Aetholix flavibasalis - have had several records of this species this year, I only recorded it three times in the whole of 2015.
Agathodes ostentalis x2 - I have been hoping to trap this moth since I saw an illustration of it in a book, to say it is better in real life would be an understatement! This was new to me and will almost certainly be in my top ten at the end of the year!
Botyodes asialis - only the second time I have caught this very large species - its wingspan is in excess of 4cm
Dysallacta megalopa - a species that I see frequently in small numbers

Dom F · Feb 5, 2016

Part III

Acosmeryx anceus (Sphingidae) - this is one of my favourite hawkmoths and another that I catch quite regularly between now and mid April This is my first of the year.
Agrotis poliotis (Noctuinae) - an extremely variable species, it is quite common in small numbers throughout the year
Crocidolomia pavonana /B] (Evergestinae) - a fresh male; this is another species that I recorded infrequently in 2015 but have seen several times already this year
Cyclodes spectans (Catocalinae) - this spectacular species seems to be resident in my garden as I see it several times each week.
Digama marmora (Aganainae) - this small a delicately marked moth is unusual in that most members of this group are large and boldly marked

Dom F · Feb 5, 2016

Part IV

Antictenia punctunculus (Oenochrominae) - a variable moth that seems to be quite common in my garden this year, there were at least two individuals last night
Cernia amyclaria (Oenochrominae) - not seen this species prior to this year, this is at least the third individual that I have recorded since mid January
Comostola iodioides (Geometrinae) - one of the commonest Comostola that I record in the garden
Comostola nereidaria (Geometrinae) - another common species in the garden
Somatina microphylla (Sterrhinae) - only the second time I have caught this species, first record was in June last year.

Dom F · Feb 5, 2016

Part V

Mocis alterna (Catocalinae) - I record three species of Mocis in the garden, this is probably the most common
Phazaca decorata (Epipleminae) - prior to this year I rarely recorded this group of moths but this year I have had several species and on occasion several individuals. This Phazaca is a relatively easy species to ID but I am still working on several other individuals!
Pindara serratilinea (Catocalinae) - the first record of the year for this large species (wingpan 6cm+). It is not a common moth but I have seen it occasionally in the past.
Saroba trimaculata(Catocalinae) - this moth always reminds me of the Corgatha (Acontinae), all be it one on steroids as this species has a wingspan of 4-5cm compared to 1-2 for the Corgatha

My trap site showing a proportion of the moths that appeared last night - the floor in front of the trap was covered as well which made checking the catch very tricky!

Dom F · Feb 7, 2016

With temperatures barely dropping below 28 and peaking in the high 30s, usually feeling like the low 40s, it is incredibly unpleasant here at times. The mothing has continued to be good, with overcast nights being the most productive despite the fact that there is no moon at the moment.
There are four parts today...
Part I - Sphingids.
One of the things that fascinates me about trapping nightly in the same location is how the species composition at the trap can change when on the face of it there are no visible changes in weather. The selection of Sphingids coming to light the last few days is a prime example of this. I am at the moment averaging 15-20 individuals of 4-5 species but the species composition and dominance varies continually. A couple of nights ago I caught eight Theretra oldenlandiae, four Theretra margarita and no Hippotion species at all. Last night I caught six Theretra margarita, three Th.oldenlandiae and two species of Hippotion....
Agrius spp - this was a very small individual and it appears to have virtually no pink on its abdomen. My initial thoughts were that this was an Agrius godarti but I then became less convinced. On a Sphingid forum on FB it has been ID'd as godarti....I have retained it for furture setting.
Gnathothlibus eras - my first of the season of this large and impressive species
Hippotion rosetta
Hippotion vellox

Dom F · Feb 7, 2016

Part II

Allata indistincta (Notodontidae) - when i first saw this I immediately thought of European species such as Pale Prominent etc but there was no obvious match. A mothing contact from New Zealand ID'd it as indistincta which seems to be restricted to the Cape York region
Gonodontis orthotoma (Ennominae) - a large member of this genus with a wingspan of close to 5cm. This was new to me.
Trigonodes hyppasia (catocalinae) - quite a common species but I have never seen one with a diagonal stripe as narrow as that in the first photo, they are predominantly like the second photo

Dom F · Feb 7, 2016

Part III

Choreutis periploca (Choreutidae) - this was new to me this month and I am now seeing it daily!
Conogethes tharsalea (Spilomelinae) - only the second time I have caught this moth and I still have not got a decent photo of it!
Cryptophasia russata (Xyloryctidae) - a very distinctive and large member of this family. Another new species for me
Glyphodes actorionalis (Spilomelinae) - one of the scarce Glyphodes in my garden, I catch it once a month on average.
Grammodes pulcherrima (Catocalinae) - only the second example of this I have seen, very similar to G,oculicola but with an additional white mark near the apex of the forewing

Dom F · Feb 7, 2016

Part IV

Eustenica treicleiota (Cossidae) - I have caught this a few times and have posted it here and on a couple of other sites. Up until yesterday its ID was unknown by me and I had assumed that it was a Clostera (Notodontidae) species as it was remarkably similar to the Chocolate-tips in Europe.How wrong I was! It is apparently a widespread but little known Cossidae - its ID has been confirmed by experts at ANIC! The Oz moth fauna is certainly different!
Hamodes propitia (Catocalinae) - a fresh example
Hypena orthographa (Hypeninae) - only my second record of this species, my first was in March 2015

Water Scorpion - at approx 3 inches in length I removed this from crawling up my legs rather promptly!

Dom F · Feb 10, 2016

The month continues to be exceedingly productive - I am getting further behind in IDing specimens and other "less important" paperwork at home - haven't even looked at the non moth shots yet!
Hawkmoths have continued to be a strong feature the last few days with 20-25 individuals of up to eight species; interestingly Hyles livornicoides has been most notable by its complete abscence! Instead the most common species by far has been Theretra oldenlandiae with at least 10 individuals most nights, peaking at 15 last night.
Acosmeryx anceus - have caught a couple of these.
Daphnis placida only caught one so far.

Athyma subpunctata (Catocalinae) an infrequent visitor to the trap
Avatha discolor (Catocalinae) another infrequent and highly variable visitor to the garden.
Platyja umminia (Catocalinae) - a new species for me this week; this one is a female as the males do not have the obvious stigma on the forewings

Dom F · Feb 10, 2016

My on going run of good Geometrinae has continued with two species last night that I have only caught once before:
Alleopage cinerea and Metallochlora venusta

Nadagara xylotrema (Ennominae) - this is a regular visitor to the trap but it is always good to see a fresh individual
Westermannia concha (Chloephorinae) - this was another new species for me, I have caught the similar Westermannia gloriosa several times last year but not concha.
Xanthodes congenita (Chloephorinae) - the classification of the Xanthodes seems to change depending upon which source you use, where ever it happens to be placed it was nice to see this one again as opposed to the far more frequent transversa

Dom F · Feb 10, 2016

Agape chloropyga (Aganainae) - my first since mid 2015
Argina astraea (Arctiinae) - my first for several months, although from the look of this individual it has been on the wing for some time.
Utetheisa aegrotum (Arctiinae) - hard to believe this is in the same genus as the Crimson-speckled footman complex! Again my first for the year.
Lymantria antennata (Lymantridae) - one of several species with flightless females, this is a new species for me.

Dom F · Feb 10, 2016

My last for today...

Nausinoe pueritia (Pyraustinae) - this very attractive Crambidae was new to me last night
Pseudodavara spAA (Phycitinae) - probably my favourite Phycitinae, although its current name does not exactly slip off the tongue!
Spodoptera picta (Amphipyrinae) - only the second time I have caught this, the first one was sitting completely out of reach on the overhang of the house. It is a shame that this is not a fresh individual but it is a great looking moth.
Xenogenes spp (Catocalinae) - Two shots of what I suspect is Xenogenes chrysoplaca but it does not quite match the photos on BOLD. Unfortunately I did not retain it!

honeym · Feb 11, 2016

Dom F said:
My last for today...
Xenogenes spp (Catocalinae) - Two shots of what I suspect is Xenogenes chrysoplaca but it does not quite match the photos on BOLD. Unfortunately I did not retain it!

Hi Dom
I think you'll find it is Fodina ostorius (Donovan, 1805).
Best wishes
Martin

honeym · Feb 11, 2016

Dom F said:
My last for today...
Pseudodavara spAA (Phycitinae) - probably my favourite Phycitinae, although its current name does not exactly slip off the tongue!

Hi Dom
This semms to match the specimen here (http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=282894) labelled as Spatulipalpia haemaphoralis which, in the Globiz database, is placed in the genus Pseudodavara - but you may well know all of this.
Martin

February 2016 - Yorkeys Knob, Australia (1 Viewer)

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