Moths are especially difficult to identify, and I’m not exactly sure that I know what it is.  None of my insect books had it, but that is the case for the majority of moths I come across.

Luckily, I came across this resource on the moths of the Pacific Northwest!  After thumbing through it a bit, I believe I finally know what type of moth it is.  And the drum roll…

It is a Tolype distincta of the family Lasiocampidae.  Unfortunately I was not able to find a common name for this moth, though from searching on the web it is somewhat common.  I believe it feeds on trees, but could find no definitive information on the web.

Here’s another shot of it that is better for identification.

This specimen I found was attached to another moth below it, the result of mating.  The bottom moth was already dead and this one was clinging to life when I found it – no longer able to fly.

So, I was able to give this little moth a name, though all I know about it is from interacting with it myself.  Still, it’s always nice to know when of my neighbor’s names…

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

As I mentioned yesterday, there were tons of springtails.  However, there was a lot more to see with some patience.  The first thing that I was able to get a decent shot of was a tiny spider.

This spider was so tiny that I needed to take this shot at 5x.  It is so far the smallest spider that I have captured.  I actually have seen this spider multiple times before, but it tends to be rather quick and does not like being left in the open.  Therefore until this day I was not able to get a good shot of it.  Unfortunately I have really no idea what species it is.  My insect books cover spiders but I was not able to find this spider there.  I really need to find a good book on identifying spiders some day.  I would be curious to know what spiders this small eat, as even springtails seem to be a large snack.

I found a piece of wood that was laying over a fountain no longer in use and turned it over.  At first I didn’t see much, but after looking closely I wound up photographing different critters on it for the next half hour.  I kind of like the following shot, though in retrospect I think I should have framed it better.  At the time I was focusing my attention on the woodlouse and I didn’t notice the snail until it began to turn away.

I’d be curious for others’ opinions on this shot, as it sort of looks like they are checking each other out.  This woodlouse was a bit smaller than the ones I normally find, though I don’t believe I had to go to 5x to get the shot.

I found several very small moths in the area, including several on the piece of wood.  This is one of the shots I got of one.

Unfortunately some of the details are a bit blown out on it.  I’ll need to try to mask it and bring some of the details back.  This was one very small moth, and again I have no idea what species it may be.  I looked through my insect books but I was unable to find a definitive match.  I think though for the next all white subject I will need to adjust the flash compensation a bit to not blow out the details so much.

Another subject I found was a tiny see through worm.

As little I know about insects, I know even less about worms, so I won’t even try to guess what species this may be.  Still, I think it is rather cool how you can literally see right through it.  From the naked eye I thought this may be some egg at first, but when I looked at it in the camera I realized that it was a small worm.  I wish I knew more about worm anatomy to say what those little things through it are.

My final subject for this session was a tiny spider.

I really need to get a good spider book, as I was not able to find this species either.  In general it seems that the smaller species are underrepresented in the literature because most people do not notice them.  Still, I was rather surprised with the diversity I found in an area that initially seemed lifeless.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.