Mokka mit Schlag » Nature

Lately I’ve been turning on my 2nd floor balcony light in the evening after dark to see what shows up. This was a particularly active individual that was crawling around the walls. It’s about the size of a large ant.

Leucogoniella californica, Hodges 1848
2009-07-27

This is just one of several new moths I’ve tallied without evening stepping outside my front door. It doesn’t seem to have previously been recorded in Orange County, and this may the the first BugGuide record.
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Red-eared Slider, 2009-07-26

Found this one up a hill in Mason Park last weekend. She climbed quite a ways from the ponds to find a spot to lay her eggs.

Garden Tortrix Moth, Clepsis peritana, Hodges 3688
Irvine, CA, 2009-07

Today’s moth is a fairly commons species, and comes to light on my balcony fairly often; but it’s also relatively small at just over a centimeter. This photo is several times actual size. I didn’t get a decent photo of one until quite recently. It’s a pest of strawberry farms, and although Orange County is mostly paved over these days, there are still a few farms dotted around here and there including Tanaka Farms just a couple of miles down the road from me.
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Glyphodes onychinalis – Hodges#5199.1
Fullerton Arboretum, June 28, 2009

The moth is an Asian species that’s been in Southern California for the last 10 years or so. It was first identified in 2000 down the road in Newport Beach; and I’ve also found it on my balcony in Irvine in the evening. I have not ID’d the spider. I didn’t even notice it in the field.
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Lately I’ve been wandering around my apartment complex at night seeing what’s attracted to the lights with some success. Most of the moths I find are fairly small–a centimeter or less–but this is actually a pretty large one, about 3 centimeters:

Aglossa cacamica – Hodges#5514
Irvine, CA, 2009-07-11

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Just when you thought it was safe to go out at night, Moth Monday returns! Today’s moth is a Southern California speciality, Hodges 4891 – Dicymolomia opuntialis. Thanks to Bob Patterson for the ID.

Hodges#4891 Dicymolomia opuntialis
Fullerton Arboretum, Fullerton, California, 2009-6-28

It’s in the family of Crambid Snout Moths, a group of fairly small moths (a centimeter or less) that I’ve been finding more and more of lately, mostly by virtue of using a 1:1 macro lens and going out at night. This, however, I found in the morning at Fullerton Arboretum, perched on a light. It had probably stayed there all night.