As the nights gradually get warmer down here in the southern hemisphere, more moths are starting to make an appearance. Last night was dry and and a little warmer than it has been so I put the moth trap out again. Mine is a Skinner moth trap with a mercury vapour bulb. This does not harm the moths. They are attracted to the light and get caught in a large box where they settle on some empty egg cartons. In the morning they can be photographed and released. If you are interested in doing a bit of mothing (as the hobby is called) you might enjoy a post I made a few weeks ago on, How to Catch a Moth ...A Basic Introduction to Traps and Mothing. As mentioned in that post, its a great way to participate in some citizen science projects by recording what you find, particularly if you find something a little unusual for your area.
Hopefully, as Steemit grows, a community of mothing enthusiasts may develop. In the mean time I hope that many will at least enjoy the photos :-) Anyhow, here are some of the moths from last night that I managed to photograph. Plenty of others flew off before I had the chance :-)
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The first six are all Geometrids. Not surprising as Geometridae is one of the largest Lepidopteran families.
Family Geometridae: Scioglyptis chionomera
Family Geometridae: Chloroclystis testulata - Pale banded form
Family Geometridae: Poecilasthena pulchraria
Family Geometridae: Hypobapta percomptaria
Family Geometridae: Cyneoterpna wilsoni
Family Geometridae: Oenochroma vinaria
Of the next two, the first is a Notodintid. Probably the following one is as well but I'm still checking up on that one.
Family Notodontidae: Sorama bicolor
Not sure on this one. Looks like another Notodontid
The next two are Anthelids. Both seem to be Anthela acuta. These are very variable. This is a species complex which may, with further study, prove to be several distinct species.
Family Anthelidae: Anthela acuta
Family Anthelidae: Anthela acuta
The last three photos (two species) are Noctuids.
Family Noctuidae: Still checking ID for this one
Family Noctuidae: Pantydia sparsa
Same moth as above. Family Noctuidae: Frontolateral view of Pantydia sparsa
I hope you enjoyed the moths in this post. If so, please consider upvoting, commenting , following or resteeming. Thank you!