As most readers will know, I am fascinated by so many aspects of God’s
creation. One of the things I was actively involved in, especially in
retirement, was setting out black lights and white sheets, to attract myriad
night-time creatures. Of course as Marie was in steep decline, and for a couple
of years after she passed, I stopped my black-lighting efforts. But in the last few months beginning in May, I have been back at it. I have had the lights set up on 6
occasions, at various places in Rondeau, which used to be my main focal point
for these creatures. And it has rejuvenated my interest in moths, especially,
which has always been the main target species.
With the increasingly shorter nights until June 21, I had usually not
put the lights on until about 9:30 p.m., and kept them on until after midnight.
Now the nights are slowly getting longer, so there’s even more opportunity for
having the lights on to attract these critters! On a couple of occasions I had
them on until about 2 a.m., and might have stayed longer by having a nap for a
few minutes in the vehicle when needed, but with the periodic bothersome
mosquitoes, I couldn’t really nap, so packed it in by about 2. Of course by the
time I packed up and got home, it was usually well after 3, and often didn’t
get to sleep until about 4. Then the dawn was appearing before 6, so it made
for a limited amount of sleep. The remainder of the day was considered a
‘recovery’ day, so had a few naps over the course of the day. And when I wasn’t
napping, I was processing some of the numerous photos I had taken. I typically
took about 150-200 photos a night, many of which were duplicates. But over the
course of the year so far, I have photographed more than 120 different species
of moths, plus a couple of dozen other critters that came to the lights. This photo shows what part of my set-up can look like, although on some occasions I just put the sheets over a rope tied between two trees.
I did post a blog on moths in January of this year, using moth photos of
my earlier efforts, but am so intrigued by moths that now I have gotten back at
it to some extent, wanted to feature them again. The third week of July was National
Moth Week; maybe you have noticed some that are in your area. They do, in fact
even come to outdoor house lights but in very small numbers. So keep an eye
open for them…you might be surprised at what is around. This next photo is one which came to the outside of the house, not the black light.
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| Pale-winged Idia |
A sample of others, both moths and other creatures, that came to my black lights, either on a white sheet or a nearby wall, are as follows.
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| Agreeable Tiger Moth |
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| Beautiful Wood-nymph |
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| Black-dotted Glyph |
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| IO Moth |
Next is a Close-banded Yellowhorn, named for its obvious yellowish antennae.
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| Delightful Donacaula |
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| Flowing-line Snout |
Next is a Pearly Wood-nymph, very similar to the Beautiful Wood-nymph shown above. Can you see the difference?One of my favourites, which I don't see every year, is this next one, the Pink-striped Oakworm Moth.A member of the Leafhopper group is this next one, the Sharp-headed Sharpshooter. Leafhoppers are quite colourful, and very small, and fun to photograph.
Finally, is the Round-necked Sexton Beetle. 
Just a very small handful of the incredible diversity of night-time creatures!
So far over the years, I have photographed almost 550 species of moths
at Rondeau alone, which is almost certainly fewer than half of the total number
of species that are likely there. So there is motive to keep at it over the
course of the entire season and in future years. Stay tuned….I might have some new species to
share!
These moths, of course, are responding to certain wavelengths of light,
some of which are quite obvious to us humans. But there is a very different ‘light’
that we, as humans, can respond to. Jesus is the Light of the world, and it is
through responding to His incredible free gift to all humans by asking Him to
be our light through the forgiveness of our many sins, as He has paid the price
for them all via his death on the cross. Then we can experience His offer for
our eternity, with Him in what those who have had Near Death Experiences have
described as the wonderful love and beauty of the heavenly realm. I’ve read
several books that share what these NDErs experience, and have alluded to them
in previous posts. It isn’t something you want to miss out on.
I know there are at least a few people on this distribution list that
have already subscribed to the Light that Jesus offers. But likely not
everyone. Think about it. Deciding will be by far the most important decision
you could ever make!!
