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Post by jhyatt on Sept 21, 2021 10:11:45 GMT -8
I've taken it in Montana. Haven't run across it in the East, but I seem to remember someone telling me that it turned up in the high
Smokies some years ago during a "bioblitz" collecting weekend.
jh
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Post by willyomt on Sept 21, 2021 20:48:19 GMT -8
Last year (2020), myself and two collecting partners found as many A. caja as we were interested in collecting in Colorado. They were so common that we quit collecting them after a while. I think it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
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Post by trehopr1 on Sept 22, 2021 8:05:23 GMT -8
Thank you to everyone who has thus far participated in this questionnaire of mine !
From what I gather from the various reports; this species seems to be indeed a localized occurrence.
In the western US we have thus far had reports of it from Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Colorado, and even Oregon.
Our eastern US reports however, are somewhat dismal with only reports coming in from NW Wisconsin, the Catskills of New York, and somewhere in the high Smokies of Tennessee or North Carolina (?).
So, I suppose if you have been fortunate enough to find it here (at all) then you're pretty fortunate !
A very unique Arctiid species and certainly a "thrill to find" here in the US.
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Post by mothman55 on Sept 22, 2021 10:05:00 GMT -8
They used to be common in Central Ontario back in the 1990's. I used to put the MV light/sheet out when we had a cottage up there, and caja was a regular visitor. On less occasions we would get St. Lawrence tiger. I have not been back there for about 10 years so can't say if they are still common there.  |
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Post by trehopr1 on Sept 22, 2021 13:15:19 GMT -8
Mothman55, could we see some more of your Arctiid holdings present in that drawer ?
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Post by jhyatt on Sept 22, 2021 13:49:17 GMT -8
Thank you to everyone who has thus far participated in this questionnaire of mine ! From what I gather from the various reports; this species seems to be indeed a localized occurrence. In the western US we have thus far had reports of it from Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Colorado, and even Oregon. Our eastern US reports however, are somewhat dismal with only reports coming in from NW Wisconsin, the Catskills of New York, and somewhere in the high Smokies of Tennessee or North Carolina (?). So, I suppose if you have been fortunate enough to find it here (at all) then you're pretty fortunate ! A very unique Arctiid species and certainly a "thrill to find" here in the US. See the Moth Photographers' Group page for A. caja at: mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=8166Although seldom up to date, their distribution map shows a dot along the TN/NC border, and one in southern Ohio, as the southernmost records. Seems to be a big concentration of records from Utah. Good hunting, jh |
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Post by 58chevy on Sept 22, 2021 14:27:28 GMT -8
willyomt, where in Colorado did you collect them? What month?
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Post by mothman55 on Sept 23, 2021 6:01:12 GMT -8
Trehopr1, here is the complete drawer.  |
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Post by trehopr1 on Sept 23, 2021 8:27:21 GMT -8
Thank you very much indeed mothman55 for showing us the entire drawer !
That is an impressive gathering of species. Lovely drawer throughout.
I have always liked these patterned Arctiids however, I have personally never had much luck collecting very many specimens or species where I live.
I have only found (two) specimens of Grammie virgo and (one) of Grammia anna -- that gorgeous overall black one.
I have also found that species in the (right top corner) unit tray; about 12-15 specimens over the years in the far southern counties of Illinois.
So, I basically haven't found very much and you are quite fortunate to have so many species and numbers available to you.
Thank you for sharing this fine drawer with us.
*Note: I would add that because I live in a suburban setting this is probably why I encounter so few. Also, I only set up my light in my backyard because in a forest which is only half a mile away from my house I would not feel safe doing such activity at night.
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Post by exoticimports on Sept 23, 2021 9:13:51 GMT -8
Trehopr1,
Odd that you have so few Arctiids; I get a good half dozen species, some in significant quantity- virgo, parthenice, and phaelerata are all common.
Interesting contrasting locations- I'm too CLOSE to the forest, which is only 25' from my light. I'd think one KM would be fine for drawing in all manner of species.
Why do you feel unsafe at night? On the side of the house a perfectly dark section of forest comes within 15' of the house. A couple nights I heard owl noises that weren't from an owl coming from that area (in fact, it was admittedly a very good imitation with one error) so I went out and surprised the interloper, who's not returned. I think when he saw the NVG he figured out I wasn't screwing around.
Chuck
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Post by trehopr1 on Sept 23, 2021 10:31:14 GMT -8
Hi Chuck, I think that if I lived in a more rural setting then I would feel perfectly comfortable going out and about at night collecting. However, here in a suburban setting there is way more humanity present and not all of it is good.
A fellow collector friend of mine some years ago was black lighting in a forest preserve near his home just outside of Chicago. He was just minding his own business when three kids in their (early twenties) stepped out of the woods and started giving him a hard time with questions as to what he was doing.
The questions led to shoving and before he knew it he was on the ground getting kicked. He got pretty "roughed up" and the punks all walked away laughing but, fortunately no broken bones just bruises and cuts.
So, his vivid recollections have always stayed with me and I am thus very cautious about being alone in any setting where others could see me.
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Post by exoticimports on Sept 23, 2021 10:43:24 GMT -8
Hi Chuck, I think that if I lived in a more rural setting then I would feel perfectly comfortable going out and about at night collecting. However, here in a suburban setting there is way more humanity present and not all of it is good. A fellow collector friend of mine some years ago was black lighting in a forest preserve near his home just outside of Chicago. He was just minding his own business when three kids in their (early twenties) stepped out of the woods and started giving him a hard time with questions as to what he was doing. The questions led to shoving and before he knew it he was on the ground getting kicked. He got pretty "roughed up" and the punks all walked away laughing but, fortunately no broken bones just bruises and cuts. So, his vivid recollections have always stayed with me and I am thus very cautious about being alone in any setting where others could see me. Too bad about the punks. All communities have them, and they do tend to roam at night. I've encountered them from Cambodia to California and made it clear somebody isn't coming out alive, and it may be them. Back in my area, they seem to be able to smell 9mm from quite a distance. Chuck |
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Post by jhyatt on Sept 23, 2021 13:53:55 GMT -8
Interesting you think 25' from the woods is too close for lighting moths, Chuck. I generally try to be just about there or even a tad closer. I've placed light traps on small trails deep withing woods and done quite well with them. And we used to have a house in the woods, and it had the best bait trapping I've ever done anywhere.
Whether a moth light would draw moths from a KM away would be hard to test... Probably would work if there were few or no other lights in the area -- but places like that are really tough to find in this country these days, at least in the East.
Regards,
jh
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Post by mothman55 on Sept 23, 2021 16:12:57 GMT -8
Trehopr1
I get what you mean about setting up a light in the woods alone. When I was younger, there were a few times I would be in somewhat remote areas by myself, I look back now and wonder what I was thinking. I did have a like minded friend that would join me at times. But most of my moths have come from a family cottage in Coe Hill, Ontario. It is up on a hill with woods on all sides and the nearest cottage at least a hundred yards away. I would set up my MV light and sheet in the side yard and just step out the door maybe 30 feet to check the sheet. And I would leave the light on all night and get up early to beat the birds to anything that came in after midnight. And back at home here just east of Toronto, we back on to a woods, its too suburban for any success with lights, but the catocala come to the bait from mid July to mid September. I get up to 20 different catocala species on just the 6 trees I sugar just behind the house in the woods. I have a friend in Windsor that gets between 30 and 40 species every season.
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Post by mothman55 on Sept 23, 2021 16:29:39 GMT -8
Forgot to mention an encounter with a big black bear while checking some MV lights around a community centre. Fortunately he seemed uninterested, and I beat a gradual retreat back to my car. And there was the time I was checking the lights at a liquor store and the police stopped me to see what I was up to, as it was about 1am. Luckily I had a couple of silk moths I had picked up that I could show them, I am sure they wondered if I had a screw loose, but obviously not looking to rob the store. I am sure we could have a long thread on the awkward experiences in pursuit of moths.
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