Nothing too artsy fartsy here…Just some nice photos of some very cool insects (and a couple spiders). As you will be able to tell, the post is pretty heavy on moths. I have been beefing up my collection of moth photos, especially trying to capture them in a more natural setting. I attract them to our land (“Skogstjarna” in northern Minnesota) by leaving an outdoor light on at night. Then early in the morning I go out when the moths are still sluggish and gently move them to a more natural perch. It doesn’t always work so well on tiny moths since they can warm up more rapidly and fly off when I disturb their sleep.
I’ve also included some cool camouflage photos.

Karner Melissa Blue butterfly, Lycaeides Melissa samuelis, Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, Necedah, Wisconsin, July 19, 2018

I unintentionally planned my trip to Wisconsin’s Necedah National Wildlife Refuge perfectly. I was amazed and pleasantly surprised to find that the nickel-sized Karner Blue butterfly was abundant, and easily the most common butterfly species out and about. Its caterpillar food plant is the native Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis) which was just done blooming, but that doesn’t phase the adults which nectar on many flower species including the abundant roadside flower Bird’s-foot Trefoil.

This butterfly is a federally Endangered subspecies of the Melissa Blue.

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 118mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/250 second at f13; ISO 250; -0.33 ev; pop-up fill flash; hand-held]

Lytrosis unitaria Common Lytrosis, 6720, Family Geometridae, Skogstjarna, Carlton County, Minnesota

Talk about well camouflaged! The Common Lytrosis moth is perfectly adapted to daytime perching on rough-barked trees (or stacked firewood in this case!)

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 70mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/60 second at f8; ISO 1600; hand-held]

Nerice bidentata Double-toothed Prominent, moth, 93-0018, 7929, Family Notodontidae, Skogstjarna, Carlton County, Minnesota, June 13, 2018

The “double toothed” pattern of this moth breaks up its shape and makes it look as if it is just another spiky branch. Brilliant camouflage!

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 109mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/250 second at f9; ISO 100; pop-up fill flash; hand-held]

Regal Fritillary Speyeria idalia, male, butterfly, Felton WMA, Clay County, Minnesota, August 17, 2018

One of my main goals in going to northwest Minnesota in late summer was to find and photograph the rare Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia); a truly regal creature of tallgrass prairies. I had seen them at southwest Minnesota’s Blue Mounds State Park, and got some not-so-great photos at Nachusa Grasslands in Illinois, but now I wanted some publication-quality images.

I had no luck on my first day, even though I scanned about a thousand Blazing Star flowers (a preferred nectar source). Then on day two I decided to hike out into the Felton WMA. Within about 20 yards I kicked up my first Regal, followed by half a dozen more in the next 15 minutes. But getting close to them is another story.

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 200mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/1250 second at f4; ISO 250; hand-held]

Regal Fritillary Speyeria idalia, male, butterfly, and Bombus bumble bee, Felton WMA, Clay County, Minnesota, August 17, 2018

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 200mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/400 second at f4; ISO 100; pop-up fill flash; hand-held]

Bellura obliqua Cattail Borer 93-2517 9525 Family Noctuidae Skogstjarna Carlton County, Minnesota, June 23, 2018

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 91mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/250 second at f13; ISO 250; -1.66 ev; pop-up fill flash; hand-held]

Biston betularia Pepper-and-Salt Geometer or Peppered Moth, 6640, Family Geometridae, Skogstjarna Carlton County, Minnesota, June 8, 2018

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 135mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/60 second at f11; ISO 1600; hand-held]

Habrosyne scripta Lettered Habrosyne, moth, 6235, Family Depranidae, Skogstjarna, Carlton County, Minnesota, June 8, 2018

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 135mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/250 second at f11; ISO 320; +1 ev; pop-up fill flash; hand-held]

Harrisimemna trisignata Harris’s Three-Spot moth, 93-1498, 9286, Family Noctuidae, Skogstjarna, Carlton County, Minnesota, June 13, 2018

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 113mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/250 second at f16; ISO 200; +0.33 ev; pop-up fill flash; hand-held]

Hyalophora cecropia Cecropia moth far back on Warren Woessner Bog Boardwalk at the Warren Nelson Memorial Bog, Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota

[iPhone 7+]

Phyllodesma americana American Lappet Moth, 7687, Family Lasiocampidae, Skogstjarna, Carlton County, Minnesota, June 23, 2018

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 70mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/60 second at f9; ISO 640; hand-held]

Smerinthus cerisyi One-eyed Sphinx, moth, 7822, Family Sphingidae, Skogstjarna, Carlton County, Minnesota, June 23, 2018

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 140mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/250 second at f8; ISO 640; pop-up fill flash; hand-held]

Amorpha juglandis Walnut Sphinx 7827 Family Sphingidae Skogstjarna Carlton County, Minnesota, June 8, 2018

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 98mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/160 second at f10; ISO 800; -0.66 ev; hand-held]

Anastoechus barbatus bee fly Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge NWR Polk County, Minnesota, August 17, 2018

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 135mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/250 second at f11; ISO 400; pop-up fill flash; hand-held]

Argiope trifasciata Banded Garden Spider Felton WMA Clay County, Minnesota

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 118mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/250 second at f8; ISO 200; pop-up fill flash; hand-held]

Uloborus glomosus Feather-legged Orbweaver in web with multiple egg sacs, spider, Warren Woessner Bog Boardwalk at Warren Nelson Memorial Bog, Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota

[Canon 7D with Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM lens at 188mm with Canon 500D front-mounted close-up lens; 1/250 second at f22; ISO 800; pop-up fill flash; hand-held]

Last year I got the “Trifecta of Mega Moths” …Cecropia, Polyphemus and Luna; But this year I added the Promethea to get the GRAND SLAM!
All were photographed between my house and garage. My technique is simple…Leave the garage light on all night then go out in the morning and try (emphasize the word “try”) to move them gently to a more photogenic perch. You have to go out very early (5:30 to 6:30 am) before they warm up and fly off.

CECROPIA (Hyalophora cecropia) The genus is named after Cecrops I, the mythical first king of Athens, and it is certainly the KING of North American moths…It is one of the showiest and largest with a wingspan approaching 6 inches. Caterpillars are especially fond of maple leaves but also feed on tamarack, spruce, birch and cherry. Sparse population in the “wild” as there may only be a couple adults in a square mile of forest, BUT some residential populations can be quite dense. Males may FLY 20 MILES (!) over several nights, and mate with several females.

CECROPIA (Hyalophora cecropia)

LUNA MOTH (Actias luna) Luna the Goddess, was the ancient Roman divine personification of the Moon. Caterpillars much prefer the Paper Birch leaves in the north woods. This is my best Luna photo in a long while…Unfortunately it is on the T-111 siding on my garage. When I tried to move it, it started its flopping-Arching defense and escaped.

PROMETHEA (Callosamia promethea)

PROMETHEA (Callosamia promethea) Prometheus, a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who is credited with the creation of man from clay, and who defies the gods and gifts humanity with fire” (Wikipedia). Adults live for a week and may fly 20 miles in that time period. This is a female but the darker male is day-flying and may mimic the unpalatable swallowtail butterfly. Caterpillars feed on black cherry, ash and perhaps, lilac.

PROMETHEA (Callosamia promethea)

POLYPHEMUS (Antheraea polyphemus) Polyphemus is the gigantic one-eyed son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes. And a semi-appropriate name as this huge moth shows one striking “eye” on each hindwing. The thought is that bird predators will attach the false eyes on the hindwings and do little damage to the moth itself. Caterpillars feed on birch, maple, willow and oak.

POLYPHEMUS (Antheraea polyphemus)The “face” of a Polyphemus when viewed at close range…complete with eyebrows!

HOME MOTH PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
1. Leave a garage/exterior house light on overnight (but don’t overdo it…leave the light off for a couple of nights between sessions, otherwise Gray Treefrogs, squirrels and birds will feast on your moths at dawn)
2. Go out early and see what the light brought in. Get outside between 5:30 and 6:30am before the moths warm up and start flying away.
3. Take “record” shots of moths perched on your garage or house siding, or porch. Then try to move them to better perches using native plants, trees. I slowly slip a flat piece of wood (about the size of a shim) under the moth until it clings to it. Then I move to my backdrop of choice and ease them onto that.
4. I have my flash and basic exposure set already…You can use a pop-up flash or hot-shoe flash, but you really should use some flash to make your subject pop.
5. I like to set a manual exposure that keeps my shutter at between 1/160 and 1/250 when using the pop-up flash (which synchs at 1/250 max). Sometimes, for larger moths, I can use my hot shoe flash set to Hi-speed synch to get higher shutter speeds. Remember, much of your shooting will be early in the morning and you may have to crank up the ISO to get these shutter speeds.
6. Now here is the part that has really improved my moth/insect shots..I switch the camera to live view and manual focus. Now when I see my favored composition in the viewfinder, I magnify the live view to 5x power. I now simply move my body/hands/camera in and out until the key part of the subject is razor-sharp in the live view viewfinder and click the shutter. I guarantee this technique will improve your moth and insect images!

[All photos taken with Canon 7D and Tamron f2 100mm macro lens (all images used manual focus). All handheld…Many taken at ISO 1600 or higher!]

Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia)

It has been a FANTASTIC year for butterflies and moths. Why? I’m not sure but there has been some speculation that the mild winter allowed more hibernators to survive. This would explain the incredible explosion of Mourning Cloak butterflies but what about the moths that winter as eggs or cocoons?

I’ve been keeping one single garage light on (compact flourescent bulb!) for the last few weeks, and I’ve managed to attract dozens of species, including my personal trifecta of giant silkworm moths in the family Saturniidae—Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus), Luna Moth (Actias luna) and the Cecropia (Hyalophora cecropia).

All were photographed near my house and garage. In the morning I check “my catch”…the moths that have been attracted to the light overnight. I then carefully maneuver them onto a stick and move them to a more attractive setting than my garage’s T-111 siding!

Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus)

The Polyphemus is just as large (6-inch wingspan) as the Cecropia, but more common in our area.”Polyphemus” refers to the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon in Greek mythology.

In southern New England there was a reported decline in giant silkworm moth populations. It was speculated that pesticides, habitat loss, increased lighting at night had all contributed to this decline. But there was little evidence for any of this…even that there was a decline. But it was discovered that a fly introduced to control the Gypsy Moth was parasitizing the caterpillars of these large silkworm moths. The fly is Compsilura concinnata. I have not seen any reports of declines in the North Woods.

Luna Moth (Actias luna)

Luna Moths (like all giant silkworm moths in the Saturniidae) are living batteries, running on energy stored when in the ravenous caterpillar stage. In fact, the adults have non-functional mouthparts. Adults only live about a week. Females mate, lay eggs and die. Males mate and die.

Unfortunately for me, this specimen was 12 feet up in a spruce and in harsh light. This photo was one of my “insurance shots” before I tried to clip the branch to move it into shaded light. That failed miserably (for me) as the Luna flew skyward and disappeared to the north.

Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus)

It is surmised that the lifelike “eyes” on the Polyphemus’s hindwings startle potential predators giving them an extra second to escape.

The Cecropia is one of our largest North Woods moth having a 6 inch wingspan. Amazingly, males may fly more than 20 miles over several nights in search of females. The females release a pheromone that the males key in on. Populations are often thin with only a few adults per square mile, BUT, surprisingly populations can be quite dense in some suburban areas.

A good field guide will really inspire your moth study. Our Moths and Caterpillars of the North Woods by Jim Sogaard shows over 300 species of moths (and their caterpillars) including 9 species of Giant Silkworm Moths. Jim shares ID tips, Life Cycle, Range, Caterpillar foods for each species. Order it through Amazon.com.