Photographing some incredibly beautiful, small elements of God's creation!

Back in the day when Marie and I were living in Rondeau, and I was the park naturalist, I had a curiosity about moths, among many other things. A friend of mine had been looking for moths long before I had, and he put me onto a method of attracting them. It was called sugaring and there was an older book on the park's shelves which was helpful to explain the process, and even help identify some of the moths one might encounter.

Essentially what you needed was a bottle of stale beer, an over-ripe banana or two, some molasses and some brown sugar. Mix them well, and then after dark, brush some of the mixture onto a tree trunk. Check the tree trunk from time to time, and see if anything comes in. I had a bit of success in getting some moths, although the occasional raccoon stopped by to lick away at it as well. One of the main groups of moths that would show up to sip the solution were the Underwings (Catocala spp.) This first photo is of a Sweetheart Underwing, which I took much more recently as I sometimes did a bit of sugaring along with my black light set up, as underwings don't often come to lights. Underwings are well known for their brightly coloured and usually distinctive underwing pattern, although when the forewings are closed, they can blend in with their surrounding very well. You can see a bit of the sugaring solution dribbling down the tree bark, being sipped by the moth. 

 I managed to attract a few, and probably got a few record photos on slide film back in those days. This friend of mine who was fairly serious about moth collecting, had a bottle of potassium cyanide with which to put the live moth in, in order to kill it fairly quickly so it could then be mounted for his moth collection. Due to its extreme danger, it was not something you could just get at a store. He had special permission for it when he acquired it years earlier. He gave me a bottle, but I never used it since I wasn't into collecting the moths. When we moved to Chatham a few years later and there was a special event in the municipality to collect things that couldn't be put in the regular garbage or recycling, I took the bottle and explained what it was for. In the next issue of the local paper explaining the success of the collecting, my jar of potassium cyanide was featured as one of the most unusual things that had ever been contributed! 

But sugaring wasn't quite as productive as I was hoping, and I had lots of other things needing attention. After a few years my job changed so that we moved to Chatham and I didn't pursue the sugaring process very eagerly or successfully. But it was a start.

Fast forward to about 2015. Many different species of moths are well known for being attracted to lights. So in my retirement years, I acquired a 'black light' and started setting up in various places. This first photo shows what it looks like, a bit before dark.

 And then after dark...

 Almost immediately there was a multitude of insects attracted to the light, many of which were not moths. Beetles, bugs, crickets, midges, crane flies, dragonflies, leafhoppers, spiders, etc., and of course moths, were all at the sheet eventually. Here is a sample of a very small patch of the white sheet, none of which are moths; two leafhoppers more or less in the centre, and very different two beetles. In peak midge season, the sheet can be almost completely covered, along with the occasional other creature.

Green Stink Bug with midges

Over the years, I spent a lot of evenings, even into the early morning hours, watching, waiting and photographing quite a diversity of God's little creatures that are largely ignored by most people. For the average person, moths are those little drab things that splat on your windshield as you are driving after dark. Admittedly many moth species are very small and not all that brightly coloured. But they are incredibly diverse and have provided many hours of enjoyment for me with the camera/flash set-up.

Since I got back into photographing these night-time creatures with my black-light, I have spent the bulk of my time in at least a dozen different habitats at Rondeau. I have also had the lights set up in my back yard, but have been to many other places, some in Chatham-Kent, such as Clear Creek Forest Prov Park and Sinclair's Bush Conservation Area. In Lambton Co it has included Reid Conservation area, Bickford Oak Woods Conservation Reserve and Moore Wildlife Area. In Middlesex Co, I have been to Skunk's Misery as well as the Sydenham River Nature Reserve. In Elgin Co, I have been to the private Newport Forest at the request of its owner, and is currently owned by the Thames Talbot Land Trust. As all of these occurrences have been well after dark, sometimes even after midnight, permission is requested since it is an atypical activity which may trigger special investigation. One time I even had an OPP officer check me out! It turned out that he was an acquaintance and nearby neighbour so we had a good chat. 

I have had other places in mind, but of course in the last couple of years as Marie was on the decline, I cut back quite a bit, and since she passed, have only had the lights on in my back yard once or twice. I have more time now, of course, but the motivation isn't the same as it once was, and coming home to an empty house well after dark just isn't the same. Perhaps I will get back into it a bit more this coming season, time will tell. Just putting this post together has gotten my interest up again, so maybe it will be part of my outdoor photography times in 2026.

The diversity of moths is amazing! In my efforts so far, I have photographed more than 750 species, plus numerous other creatures that came to visit, and have well over 3500 photos on iNaturalist from the various locations. At Rondeau alone, I have photographed well over 500 species. There have been a few other people photographing moths at Rondeau, but far less intensively, and the total list for the park to date is 784 species. If Rondeau was thoroughly surveyed, I am sure there would be well over 1000 species, maybe even 1500 due to the highly diverse habitats, so there are good reasons to continue in 2026 and beyond. I had always intended to set up my black lights well out along the Marsh Trail, as the habitat there is quite different, but since the trail was partially destroyed by erosion a few years ago and is no longer accessible by vehicle, it is a habitat that will likely get missed, unfortunately. Who knows what diversity is being missed??

One of the motivations to black light is, in addition to capture the wonderful diversity, is that you never know what you might find, and that has been a highlight at times. For example, even in my own back yard, I photographed a species that was the first record for Canada! It is known as a Coffee-loving Pyrausta Moth.

On another occasion, at Rondeau, I photographed a Goldenrod Stowaway, only the second record for Canada.

As mentioned, many are quite small and not all that colourful, but I want to share a very few of the most colourful or distinctive ones I have had the pleasure to photograph.

Spiny Oak-slug

Next is an unusual pair, and two of my favourite members of the Silk Moth group. The one on the left is a Pink-striped Oakworm Moth, and the one on the right is a Rosy Maple Moth. Most times I am happy to get a good photo of one, as they have a short season, in June. This opportunity to get both of them so close to each other in a single photograph was truly unusual.

Promethea Moth

Pink-shaded Fern Moth

Large Tolype Moth

Harris's Three-spot

Black-bordered Lemon Moth

IO Moth

Chickweed Geometer

Zeller's Ethmia

Glorious Habrosyne

Skiff Moth

Arched Hooktip

Columbine Borer Moth

Hickory Tussock Moth

Orange-headed Epicallima

Scarlet-winged Lichen Moth

Some of these are very tiny, as you can tell by looking at the size of the weave of the white sheet. A very good 100mm macro lens, with extension tubes sometimes used, is a requirement, and of course a good flash. Even at that, almost every photo has been quite cropped.

Not all moths are strictly night-time creatures, but the vast majority are. However here is a day-flying moth which I had the pleasure of photographing in my yard this past year. I was sitting one morning in July, enjoying a second cup of coffee as well as the quiet of the morning, thanking God for so many blessings including Marie, when this Nessus Sphinx moth came by sipping the nectar of a nearby Common Milkweed plant. It didn't seem to be in the least perturbed by my presence, and even allowed me to quickly go into the house and get my photo equipment.

Another day-flying moth similar to the previous one is this Snowberry Clearwing, shown next. I came across it while I was participating in the local butterfly count, and didn't pass up the opportunity to photograph it.

These moths are part of the huge family of Lepidoptera, which also includes butterflies. Most people will relate more closely with butterflies, since they are day flying, sometimes passing through one's back yard as they explore the flowers growing there. I will possibly devote a future post to them.

Certainly there is a lot of effort required to get these photos, and they don't all turn out this well. But the effort to capture the colour and diversity of such an incredible part of God's fabulous creation is so worth it! I am so, so thankful to Him for being able to explore and capture the beauty of a small part of what He has created. And I am totally convinced that the heavenly realm will be so much more colourful and diverse, expressing how wonderful He is!!!

 

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