Moth Monday: Creamsicle Moth

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Here’s one I just found at San Joaquin yesterday, so the ID’s still a little hesitant; but I think it’s Hodges#4866, Abegesta reluctalis. Could also be a similar species in the genus. Thanks to Maury J. Heiman for the ID.

Light orange and white striped moth

This picture is quite a bit larger than life size. The moth itself was less than a centimeter.
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Moth Monday: A New Species for Orange County

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

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
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 Laying Eggs

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Female Turtle
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.

Moth Monday: Garden Tortrix Moth

Monday, July 27th, 2009

gardentortrixmoth
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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Moth Monday: Along Came a Spider

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Moth with Spider on Pine
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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Moth Monday Goes Out At Night: Aglossa cacamica

Monday, July 13th, 2009

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:

Large moth on street light
Aglossa cacamica – Hodges#5514
Irvine, CA, 2009-07-11

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