by Carl A. Strang
Each year the Indiana Academy of Science co-hosts a bioblitz somewhere in that state. This year’s site was The Center at Donaldson, which includes a retreat center and Ancilla College, plus surrounding properties. I always take the singing insects in this annual 24-hour count of species, but no one came to cover Lepidoptera or Odonata in 2019, so I appended them to my commitment. That is just as well, because these events are scheduled early enough in the season that few singing insects have reached the adult stage.
Some Roesel’s katydids matured in time for the bioblitz.
Two of the five singing insect species I found were common early species that were nearly finished, two were common mid-season species recently coming into song, and one of them provided an observation of significance. The eastern striped cricket is thinly scattered in northwest Indiana, possibly expanding into that region from the south or west. A single male singing in the evening provided a Marshall County record, a full county’s width farther east than I have observed them before.
I enjoyed re-acquainting myself with the beauty of dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies and moths, and photographed many of them.
The widow skimmer was the most abundant dragonfly.
Most of the eastern or common pondhawks still were green. Males will change to blue over time.
The Halloween pennant pleases the eye.
There weren’t many damselflies. Here, a blue-fronted dancer.
Newly emerged eastern forktail females are orange.
A few monarchs graced the grounds.
There were many great spangled fritillaries, plus this meadow fritillary.
I encountered a few moths during the day, but most came to my ultraviolet light setup in the forest, or the Purdue team’s assorted bright lights in the open. Moths are underappreciated for their beauty, diversity, and ecological significance.
Large lace-border, Scopula limboundata
Reversed haploa, Haploa reversa
Painted lichen moth, Hypoprepia fucosa
Delicate cycnia, Cycnia tenera
Isabella tiger moth, Pyrrharctia Isabella
Imperial moth, Eacles imperialis
Hermit sphinx, Lintneria eremitus
Snowy-shouldered acleris, Acleris nivisellana
Oblique-banded leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana
Grape leaffolder, Desmia funeralis
Grape plume moth, Geina periscelidactylus
Large maple spanworm, Prochoerodes lineola
Lesser maple spanworm, Macaria pustularia
Small engrailed, Ectropis crepuscularia
Ovate dagger, Acronicta ovata
Pink-barred pseudostrotia, Pseudostrotia carneola
The Hebrew, Polygrammate hebraeicum
The brother, Raphia frater
Along the way I encountered a few other species to add to the species count.
Narrow-winged grasshoppers were common on the bioblitz base camp’s sandy hill.
A Pennsylvania wood cockroach came to the UV light.
The light also drew this striking summer fishfly.
Nature Inquiries 