...and those Marvelous Moths

by Larry McDaniel

This program is a collection of photographs he has taken, mostly on the back porch of his home.  There are also some shots from the Steele Creek Park Nature Center porch and a few from the barn at Larry's farm in Jonesborough, TN.  They are all of insects or other invertebrates that were attracted to lights at a simple setup on the porch that includes a sheet, a black light and a fluorescent shop light.  Larry started out using a point and shoot camera and now uses a Nikon SLR with a macro lens.

The Program

Larry provided us with the following recap from his slide show.  Download a printable version of the equipment, books, etc. 

Equipment
-    Sheet
-    Black Light
-    Shop Light with Florescent Bulb
-    Camera
-    Computer

Books
-    Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America by Eric Eaton & Kenn Kaufman
-    A Field Guide to the Moths of Eastern North America by Charles Covell
-    Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity by Stephen Marshall
-    Discovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Back Yard by John Himmelman

Websites and mail servers
-    BugGuide: http://bugguide.net
-    Moth Photographers Group: http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu
-    Butterflies and Moths of North America: www.butterfliesandmoths.org
-    Discover Life: www.discoverlife.org
-    Tennessee Moths: tn-moths@freelists.org
-    Carolina Moths: ncsc-moths@freelists.org

Contact
Larry McDaniel
3305 Pine Timbers Drive
Johnson City, TN 37604
Cell (423) 773-9234
Larry@PorchLightInsects.com

Larry's Story

I grew up in Maryland in the 50s and 60s, and like many kids of my generation I spent a lot of time outdoors. This helped to nurture a lifelong interest in nature. In the early 70s I joined a friend on a visit to Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania, and I became hooked on birding. This was a hobby and an obsession that became the focus of most of my vacations during the 90s. I developed an interest in studying butterflies during that time. It was also about that time that I started becoming a regular at the Roan Mountain Naturalists’ Rallies in northeast Tennessee. My interests were evolving from primarily birding to all-around nature study. In 2006 I became the Assistant Park Naturalist at Steele Creek Park in Bristol, TN.

It was at the Nature Center at the park where I started becoming fascinated with the variety of moths I was seeing on the walls near lights. I try to identify as many things as I can at the park and was finding myself spending a lot of time in the insect field guides. One evening in May of 2008 I was on the back porch at home in Johnson City, and I noticed a moth on the wall near the porch light. I can’t remember which species it was, but I do remember going and getting my camera. That was the beginning of my latest obsession.


I started out with taking pictures of whatever insects I found by the porch lights with my 2 megapixel, point and shoot, digital camera. I since have upgraded to a Nikon SLR with a good macro-lens. Through much trial and error I have developed some techniques that have worked pretty well. I use manual settings when photographing porch light insects. I take lots of shots and use the delete button liberally. The arrangement on the porch has changed some since I started. I now have a white sheet hanging on the wall with a 48 inch tube black light and shop light with a white florescent bulb shining on the sheet. Black lights attract more insects than regular lights do. This setup attracts more insects than I have time to handle.


Once I’ve taken what pictures I want, I have to download them onto my computer. From there I select which ones to keep and sort them into assigned folders. There they stay until it’s time for identification. Many go unidentified. I often start out with looking in a book to get on the right track. I almost always go to an internet reference to finish my identification effort. My favorite websites for this are Bug Guide and Moth Photographers Group. I put the picture of the insect I’m trying to identify on one side of the screen and I put Bug Guide or Moth Photographers Group on the other side. I then scroll through thumbnails until I find a match or near-match. Then I read the text that Bug Guide includes. Bug Guide often has a “see also” section that is very helpful. It can be very exciting to find a positive I.D. on a mystery critter.


It has been amazing to me, the diversity of insects and other creatures I have found on my back porch. There have been dragonflies, caddisflies, mantids, katydids, crickets, cicadas, treehoppers, leafhoppers, planthoppers, plant bugs, seed bugs, leaf-footed bugs, stink bugs, ground beetles, flower scarabs, may beetles, chafers, dung beetles, stag beetles, lady beetles, leaf beetles, fungus beetles, fireflies, soldier beetles, long-horned beetles, darkling beetles, click beetles, carrion beetles, fire-colored beetles, bostrichid beetles, green lacewings, antlions, crane flies, midges, mosquitoes, bee flies, long-legged flies, flower flies, blow flies, house flies, tachnid flies, picture-winged flies, ichneumon wasps, paper wasps, yellow jackets, ants, spiders, harvestmen, centipedes, millipedes, earwigs, silverfish, roaches and more.


Then there are the moths. These include giant silkmoths, smaller silkmoths, sphinx moths, owlet moths, underwing moths, lesser underwings, geometer moths, tiger moths, wasp mimics, tussock moths, prominents, tent caterpillar moths, ermine moths, plume moths, tortricid moths, pyralid moths, crambid moths and more.


I’ve been at it several years at the time of this writing, and it has been a blast. I would encourage others to give it a try. You could do it at whatever level you please. It’s something you can do at home. Think of the gas you save. One thing that might bother some people more than others is that the insects are prone to fly all around you. This is especially true when you’re trying to get in close for a great shot. It’s hard to be patient and still when you’re not sure if that was a firefly or an earwig that just landed on your forehead, but you don’t want to miss your opportunity at getting a picture of that first ever moth that just landed in front of you. Other than that, it’s relatively easy and harmless. I would definitely say try this at home.


Larry McDaniel