Florida Moths & field guide info (1 Viewer)

Andy Wraithmell

aka Limeybirder

• Dec 10, 2004

• #1

Hi
I have just bought a mercury vapour moth trap and will be trapping in my local area (NW Florida) and wondered if anyone can recommend the best field guide to use. I also need some good moth pots for holding individuals once trapped - any recommendations. In fact any information regarding Eastern US moths especially Florida spp. would be most welcome.Thanks

 

Surreybirder

Ken Noble

• Dec 10, 2004

• #2

Good luck with your new trap, Andy.
I had a look on www.bookfinder.com and the only titles it came up with under "Florida moths" were:
Thomas C. Emmel

Florida's Fabulous Butterflies & Moths

Busck, August

New Species of Moths of the Super-Family Tineina From Florida.

(about first of these)............ ISBN: 0911977155
Tampa, FL, U.S.A. World Publications 1997 Soft Cover Good 0911977155 Ex-Library Ex-Library. Keywords: BUTTERFLIES FLORIDA DIRECTORIES MOTHS NATURE REFERENCE SCIENCE ENTOMOLOGY

Click to expand...

I wonder if there's a museum of natural history in Florida that you could consult re books? Otherwise, there are bound to be some websites.
Ken

 

Last edited: Dec 10, 2004

Andy Wraithmell

aka Limeybirder

• Dec 10, 2004

• #3

Thanks Ken

I found a webiste that has some photographs of specimens captured in Florida and there is a field guide by peterson but its out of print and the only one I could find for sale wouldn't ship to Florida! Doh! I'll keep trying though. My trap hasn't arrived yet but Im eager to start. A couple of weeks ago we had a sphinx-hawk (of which there are many spp.) but it flew before I could trap it. In the summer we had several species of hummingbird-hawks but again without a book they were unidentified but still cool to watch. Very similar to our own european species but with different colours on the wings and body. If you are interested here is the florida website I found

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/moths/fl/toc.htm

:flyaway:

 

Last edited: Dec 10, 2004

Surreybirder

Ken Noble

• Dec 11, 2004

• #4

Some lovely lookers there, Andy. I hope you catch a few when your trap arrives. And please post some photos. That great leopard moth looks spectacular!
Interesting how many macro-moths haven't been given common names in the US--possibly reflects a comparatively low no. of moth'ers (and a lot of species).
I looked for the Peterson guide on www.bookfinder.com at one point and it cost a small fortune.
Ken

 

Surreybirder

Ken Noble

• Dec 11, 2004

• #5

I found a couple more sites that may, or may not, be of interest!
http://www.fsca-dpi.org/Lepidoptera/LepidopteraFLChecklistText.htm
http://www.fsca-dpi.org/
(Might be worth contacting the owner of the above site? It lists a publication called "Lepidoptera of Florida. / C.P. Kimball" but I've no idea what it covers.)
There's a moth with the name Schinia florida at:
http://www.lesinsectesduquebec.com/insecta/27-lepidoptera/schinia_florida.htm
All the best
Ken

 

Surreybirder

Ken Noble

• Dec 11, 2004

• #6

http://alpha.furman.edu/~snyder/leplist/

 

Andy Wraithmell

aka Limeybirder

• Dec 11, 2004

• #7

Thanks Ken for the info.