Diario del proyecto Moths of Oklahoma

miércoles, 17 de enero de 2024

2024 plans!

Hey moth-ers!

It's a new year and the opportunities abound! I have started making my own travel plans for the year, which includes visiting several state parks and doing some mothing.

mid April - family trip to Great Plains State Park (southwest OK)
mid May - family trip to Natural Falls State Park (northeast OK)
==== July 17-23 - Pollinator Week! ====
June 22 - Oxley Nature Center, Mohawk Park, Tulsa - Public is invited!
==== July 20-28 - National Moth Week! ====
July 28 - Lake Wister State Park (southeast OK) - Public is invited!

We will also have lots of moth nights at our usual spot in Norman, beginning in late March and running through early October.

If you are not already a member of my moth night email group and would like to be added, please let me know.

Publicado el miércoles, 17 de enero de 2024 a las 10:34 PM por zdufran zdufran | 2 comentarios | Deja un comentario

martes, 25 de julio de 2023

NMW: Roman Nose State Park observations

We had a great moth night at Roman Nose State Park on Saturday evening. Around 30 people attended, mostly guests who were staying at the state park for the weekend. We saw more than 150 species, which includes some moths seen around the area the day before and after the moth night.

Observations from the weekend can be found here.

Highlights include Beet Webworm Moth, Americerura candida, Trapeze Moth, Abegesta species, a Pyralini we haven't quite identified yet, and Wilson's Wood Nymph. We also had SEVEN species of sphinx moths (Sphingidae): Five-spotted Hawkmoth, Hagen's, Elm, White-lined, Virginia Creeper, Twin-spotted, and Blinded Sphinx.

Due to the small number of previous observations in Blaine County many of our observations are probably county records.

Publicado el martes, 25 de julio de 2023 a las 02:01 PM por zdufran zdufran | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

martes, 18 de julio de 2023

National Moth Week events!

This year National Moth Week will be held Saturday, July 22 through Sunday, July 30. I have organized two moth night events that are open to the public and I would love for you to attend. If you aren't able to attend either of these, I would encourage you to observe moths wherever you happen to be, and upload your observations to iNaturalist! I will report back about how many species Oklahoma records during the week and how that compares to other states.

Saturday, July 22 - Roman Nose State Park - This state park is just over an hour drive from the OKC metro. We will be setting up our lights near the bathhouse (swimming pool area). There is plenty of parking at this location and there are restrooms nearby. The weather forecast looks relatively mild for this time of year. We'll be starting around 9 pm and probably going until 1 am or later. Rooms at the lodge are sold out, but there are some campsites still available, but it does look like there is a two-night minimum requirement.
Google map pin: https://goo.gl/maps/Qj4k7NkJxVnMjpHd9

Wednesday, July 26 - Thunderbird Chapel in Norman. This is our normal location east of Norman, on Highway 9 between 108th and 120th. Again, we'll start around 9 pm and stick around until 1 am or so.

Happy mothing!

Publicado el martes, 18 de julio de 2023 a las 02:05 PM por zdufran zdufran | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

jueves, 01 de julio de 2021

National Moth Week approaches!

Hey everyone!

This year has been great for moths! Our state project is approaching 1600 species and I've no doubt we will pass that number within the next month. In a few weeks we will be celebrating National Moth Week. It runs from July 17-25 this year. I will be hosting a Moth Night at Thunderbird Chapel in east Norman on Thursday, July 22, and another at Boiling Springs State Park on Saturday, July 24. Both of these are public events and I hope to see some new people there.

Over the last 3 years we have been doing moth nights at state parks in different parts of the state during National Moth Week. In 2019 we visited Quartz Mountain State Park in southwest Oklahoma and Tulsa's Oxley Nature Center in northeast Oklahoma. In 2020 we visited Beaver's Bend State Park in southeast Oklahoma. So this year we are headed to Boiling Springs State Park in northwest Oklahoma to have at least hosted one moth night in each of the four "quadrants" of Oklahoma. There is a lot of moth diversity in Oklahoma thanks to the biogeographical transitions that occur from the dry highlands of Black Mesa down to the swampy southeast corner of McCurtain County. I really look forward to these "field trips," because I get to see species that don't occur in my familiar area of central Oklahoma.

I would love to see some of you at one of these two events. But even if you're not able to join us, I hope you will submit some moth observations from wherever you are during National Moth Week!

Publicado el jueves, 01 de julio de 2021 a las 04:05 PM por zdufran zdufran | 4 comentarios | Deja un comentario

lunes, 10 de mayo de 2021

New species for Oklahoma!

Last week Anna Bennett (@annainok) photographed a Sharp-blotched Nola Moth (Nola pustulata) in southeastern Oklahoma.

This is the first observation of this species in Oklahoma on iNaturalist, although there have been prior records listed on BugGuide and mothphotographersgroup. It's great when we add new species to the state project, so that our state project is more comprehensive and also to confirm the species is still present in our state.

Another new species for our state project is Common Spring Moth (Heliomata cycladata), observed by April Hathcoat (@april71) in northeast Oklahoma.

Finally, check out this dazzling little Peacock Brenthia Moth (Brenthia pavonacella) photographed by Thomas Shahan (@tshahan) in the Tulsa area. This is another new species for our state project.

Our current count for the state is 1,542 species!

Publicado el lunes, 10 de mayo de 2021 a las 07:21 PM por zdufran zdufran | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

miércoles, 24 de marzo de 2021

New species for our state project!

Moth season is definitely here! We've held two moth nights in central Oklahoma. I have personally added 17 new species I had not seen before, and our state project tally has increased by 8 species. There is a lot of potential for adding new species to our count early in the spring and late in the fall, due to fewer observations during these time periods.

Here are a few of the new additions:


Gray Sallow (Psaphida grandis) found by Mark Parker on March 5 and 6.


Lemmer's Pinion (Lithophane lemmeri) found by Rick Parker, Leah Nelson, and me on March 21, photographed here by Leah.


Double-banded Zale (Zale calycanthata) found by Rick Park, Leah Nelson, and me on March 21, photographed here by Rick.


Straight-toothed Sallow (Eupsilia vinulenta) found by Rick Parker, Leah Nelson, and me on March 21, photographed here by Leah.


Red-winged Sallow (Xystopeplus rufago) found by Rick Parker, Leah Nelson, and me on March 8, photographed here by me.


Pseudexentera haracana found by me on March 20 and 21.

The Tortricid genus Pseudexentera consists of a huge number of species, many of which are quite hard to tell apart. I have quite a few observations that are sitting at genus level, awaiting some identification help from a Tortricidae expert.

Keep up the observations, everyone!

Publicado el miércoles, 24 de marzo de 2021 a las 03:49 PM por zdufran zdufran | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

miércoles, 03 de marzo de 2021

Moth Season approaches - and some new observations

Well that was rough! I hope we don't have another arctic blast like that for another hundred years.

It's starting to warm up now and moths are appearing at porch lights. I hope you all are keeping your eyes peeled. There should be some early spring moths out and about that won't be seen later in the year. Spring Cankerworm is a common one this time of year. I've also seen some observations coming in for Fawn Sallow (Psaphida styracis), like this one from Mark Parker.

A new iNat user in Arkansas, @cloakedmarvel, has started uploading their observations from the past several years and there are some observations in eastern Oklahoma, including new species for our project. Check out this Oak Besma Moth (Besma quercivoraria).

Also, Anna Bennett has uploaded some observations from last year that are new for our state project.


Major Sallow (Feralia major)


Withered Mocis (Mocis marcida) - This species is very similar to the more common (in Oklahoma) Texas Mocis, but the PM line of this species does not extend to the center margin.

I look forward to seeing your observations this spring!

Publicado el miércoles, 03 de marzo de 2021 a las 07:12 PM por zdufran zdufran | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

martes, 29 de diciembre de 2020

Significant finds from western Oklahoma

One of North America's leading amateur moth-ers, Laura Gaudette (@gaudettelaura), visited Oklahoma for a few days in September of this year. She set up her lights in Roger Mills County (north of I-40 near the border with Texas), Ellis County (a little west of Woodward), and Cimarron County (Black Mesa State Park). A few of her observations are state records, and even more of them are first iNaturalist observations in the state. This underscores the need for more observations in western Oklahoma. I hope to make at least one trip to the western reaches in 2021.

State Records


Hyperepia jugifera - Cimarron County

First iNat records for Oklahoma


Snakeweed Borer (Pelochrista ridingsana) - Cimarron County


Pseudanarta singula - Cimarron County


Tricholita chipeta - Cimarron County



Hulst's Flower Moths (Schinia hulstia) - Roger Mills County


Schinia alencis - Cimarron County


Schinia bicuspida - Roger Mills County
Schinia bicuspida - Ellis County


Schinia regina - Ellis County


Vermilion Granite Moth (Digrammia subminiata) - Cimarron County


The Nutmeg (Anarta trifolii) - Cimarron County
The Nutmeg (Anarta trifolii) - Roger Mills County


Ponometia libedis - Cimarron County


Acopa sp. - Cimarron County
This could be either Acopa carina or Acopa perpallida. The former would be a state record and the latter is already known to occur in Cimarron County. Regardless, this is the first iNaturalist observation of any Acopa species in the state.

Possible state records...

These last two are definitely the first iNaturalist records for their species in the state and they might be state records. I am checking on that.


Schinia walsinghami - Cimarron County


Ponometia nannodes - Cimarron County

Thanks to Laura for helping us map the moths of Oklahoma! I hope our paths cross someday.

Publicado el martes, 29 de diciembre de 2020 a las 06:02 PM por zdufran zdufran | 3 comentarios | Deja un comentario

sábado, 17 de octubre de 2020

Season Recap

Moths will continue to be present for the remainder of the year, but their numbers are dwindling fast. We had our last central Oklahoma moth night on October 2, one of the Oklahoma BioBlitz activities. I thought I would provide a little recap of the season with our species counts, the weather, and the moon phase for each of our moth nights held this year. The weather is the temperature and wind speed reported at 9 pm on the date indicated. Generally we begin at sunset and stop around midnight, though on the best nights we stay a little later. All moth nights were held at the Thunderbird Chapel in east Norman (Cleveland County), with the exception of the National Moth Week event at Beavers Bend State Park.

April 7: 53 species - temp 73 F, wind 6 mph, Full (100%)
April 20: 68 species - 63 F, 3 mph, Waning (4%)
April 29: 58 species - 60 F, 5 mph, Waxing (41%)
May 18: 121 species - 73 F, 5 mph, Waning (12%)
May 30: 129 species - 72 F, 6 mph, Waxing (60%)
June 23: 114 species - 79 F, 6 mph, Waxing (9%)
July 18: 128 species - 78 F, 1 mph, Waning (3%) - Beavers Bend State Park
July 21: 124 species - 84 F, 6 mph, Waxing (2%)
Aug 17: 115 species - 80 F, 2 mph, Waning (2%)
Sep 3: 147 species - 79 F, 5 mph, Waning (97%)
Sep 16: 102 species - 71 F, 5 mph, New (0%)
Oct 2: 32 species - 60 F, 7 mph, Waning (99%)

Weather observations are from the Norman mesonet site, and Broken Bow for the Beavers Bend SP night.

This is a small data set, but I don't see that moon phase played much of a role in the number of species found. From past experience I believe that wind is a factor, so I avoided breezy nights as much as possible this year. I'm guessing that any of our windier nights during the April to October timeframe would have yielded noticeably fewer species that other nights that time of year. It's clear that "peak season" is mid-May through mid-September. Also, it appears that numbers drop off more quickly in the Fall than the ramp up in the Spring.

Publicado el sábado, 17 de octubre de 2020 a las 03:28 AM por zdufran zdufran | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

martes, 15 de septiembre de 2020

We passed 1500 species!

For more than a year I've been guessing we probably would approach or hit 1500 species in this group and start to see our numbers level out. But we've passed 1500 species now and we're still cruising! Who knows how many moth species are in Oklahoma!?!

I've found my own number growing at a rate I didn't expect to still be seeing, especially right here in my own yard. Over the last two weeks I've had 4 new species here in my own yard that I hadn't seen in 3 years of observations. I wasn't even putting in much effort, just checking my porch light.


Sesame Leafroller photographed by Anna Bennett (southeast Oklahoma)

One moth that has caught my eye is the Sesame Leafroller (Antigastra catalaunalis). Anna Bennett (@annainok) had seen this moth last week, so when I saw it a few days later I recognized it from her observation. Apparently this species is introduced and invasive in the United States. There is some confusion about the host plants it is using here.


Sesame Leafroller photographed by me (central Oklahoma)


Sesame Leafroller photographed by Tomasz Kuder (central Oklahoma)

I think it's interesting that there 5 observations of this species in Oklahoma and all from the last month and spread from northwest to southeast. There are no prior records in Oklahoma on BugGuide or MothPhotographersGroup. The first record on iNaturalist in Oklahoma is from Tomasz Kuder (@strix_v) from 11 days ago. Is it just now spreading rapidly throughout the US?


Sesame Leafroller photographed by @calinsdad (northwest Oklahoma)

Publicado el martes, 15 de septiembre de 2020 a las 04:18 PM por zdufran zdufran | 1 comentario | Deja un comentario