Diario de rednat

The Moth Posse had a great night mothing at Deer Park Prairie for Pollinator Week last month! A male Phengodes appeared for the first time in almost a year. Males have wings and large feathery antennae while females are larviform and are bioluminescent! Hope we can spot a female some day. Gorgeous moonrise over the prairie also.

July 13 - Saturday - 8:00p to 10:00p
Monthly Moth Mania at Exploration Green - held monthly on 2nd Saturday
16203 Diana Ln, Houston, TX 77062 (park in main parking lot and walk downhill)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=120329&subview=map

National Moth Week is July 20-28! I can't wait! Go to https://nationalmothweek.org/ for resources and fun info. Please check my journal for event status before hitting the road. I will update this post if a cancellation occurs. See sambiology's iNat journal for events in the DFW area.

July 20 - Saturday - 9:00p to 11:00p
Trinity River NWR - Led by Stuart Marcus, legendary moth observer
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/trinity-river
601 FM 1011, Liberty, TX 77575
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=119647&subview=map

July 20 - Saturday - More details coming soon. Registration required. CANCELLED
Galveston Bay Foundation
https://galvbay.org/
1725 Hwy 146, Kemah TX 77565
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=180623&subview=map

July 21 - Sunday - 8:30p to 11:00p (park closing time)
Memorial Park - South Picnic Loop (drive toward the back as far as you can)
We had a great night here back in February: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2024-02-21&place_id=132460&subview=map&view=species

July 22 - Monday - 8:30p to 10:30p CANCELLED
Exploration Green Phase 5 at 2201 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, TX 77058
Near Bay Area Blvd and Space Center Blvd.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=120329&subview=map

July 26 - Friday - 8:30p to 10:30p
Kleb Woods Nature Preserve - their very first moth night!
Registration required. Send email to klebwoods@hcp4.net or call 281-357-5324.
https://cp4.harriscountytx.gov/Explore/Parks/park/kleb-woods-nature-preserve
20303 Draper Road, Tomball TX, 77377
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=122026&subview=map

July 27 - Saturday - 8:30 to 11:00p
Deer Park Prairie
Registration required, sign up here: bit.ly/DPP20240727
https://texasprairie.org/deerpark/
1222 E. Purdue Lane, Deer Park 77536
Please park on the school side of the street, not in front of neighbors' homes. All attendees are asked to sign a liability release form.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=189476&subview=map

It's Pollinator Week! See the project hosted by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/pollinator-week-2024-pollinator-bioblitz. Note that you need to join the project in order for your observations of bees, wasps, butterflies, hover flies, hummingbirds and, of course, MOTHS to be included.

I'm giving my moth talk to the Houston chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas on Thursday evening June 20 at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. More details and zoom registration here: https://www.npsot.org/event/night-wings-over-the-prairie-insect-life-after-dark-june-20/

And, of course, more mothing at Deer Park Prairie:
Saturday June 22 8:30p - 11p
Lawther-Deer Park Prairie
https://texasprairie.org/deerpark/
1222 E. Purdue Lane, Deer Park 77536
Please park on the school side of the street, not in front of neighbors' homes.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=189476&subview=map

The Moth Posse has one last public moth night for May. Join us!

Saturday, May 25 - 8:15pm
Lawther-Deer Park Prairie
https://texasprairie.org/deerpark/
1222 E. Purdue Lane, Deer Park 77536
Please park on the school side of the street, not in front of neighbors' homes.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=189476&subview=map

PS--National Moth Week is July 20-27. Save the dates for the events below. More details (and hopefully more events) to come.
Saturday 7/20 - Trinity River NWR, hosted by Stuart Marcus
Friday 7/26 - Kleb Woods
Saturday 7/27 - Deer Park Prairie

What a great time The Moth Posse (aka The Mothia) had during City Nature Challenge! We mothed at a different location each night. TNC's Brazos Woods Preserve and Brazos Bend State Park were new mothing locations for us. Brazos Bend SP mothing was spectacular! Until we got rained out, anyway. Glad to see the Houston-Galveston team ultimately claimed top species count in Texas again but boy, what stiff competition from San Antonio! They did a great job this year.

Coming up this weekend are two public mothing events. Please join us!

May 11 - Saturday - 7:00p - 9:30p
John Paul Landing Park's inaugural Moth Night. Presentation at 7:00p by legendary moth-er Stuart Marcus. Now retired, he logged over 1,000 moth species while working for Trinity River NWR. Talk will be followed by mothing until 9:30p. Families welcome.
https://apps.hcp4.net/med/Event/Detail/27894

May 11 - Saturday - 8:00p to 10:00p
Monthly Moth Mania at Exploration Green - held monthly on 2nd Saturday
16203 Diana Ln, Houston, TX 77062 (park in main parking lot and walk downhill)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=120329&subview=map

Stay tuned for a date for monthly mothing at Deer Park Prairie.

Yippee! 2024 mothing season has begun! Had such a fun night with Sam Kieschnick, Craig Hensley and students attending a conference in Houston. Here's a link to Craig's video: https://www.facebook.com/texasnaturetrackers/videos/1808373639678674

Below are upcoming mothing events. Please check this journal post/journal before heading out to any of these events. I will update this post if an event has to be cancelled or updated.

April 13 - Saturday - 7:45p to 10:00p
Monthly Moth Mania at Exploration Green - held monthly on 2nd Saturday
16203 Diana Ln, Houston, TX 77062 (park in main parking lot and walk downhill)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=120329&subview=map

And especially for City Nature Challenge:
April 27 - Saturday - 8:00p
Lawther-Deer Park Prairie
https://texasprairie.org/deerpark/
1222 E. Purdue Lane, Deer Park 77536
Please park on the school side of the street, not in front of neighbors' homes.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=189476&subview=map

Stay tuned--the Moth Posse might scare up public mothing for other CNC nights as well.

Yay, our first "cool" front has arrived! I have the sheet up in my backyard this evening. Come enjoy the cooler weather tomorrow night at Exploration Green. Oct 28's moth night will be in conjunction with EG's Glow the Green Halloween event.

Oct 7 and Oct 28 - Saturday - Sunset to 10p
Monthly Moth Night at Exploration Green
16203 Diana Ln, Houston, TX 77062 (park in main parking lot and walk downhill)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=120329&subview=map

Here is info about mothing equipment my mothing buddies and I have been using this summer.

If you have an older smartphone with one lens or one without a macro lens, this clip-on 15x magnifier is great:
Xenvo Pro Lens Kit - Good clear close-up photos get better id's. Use the macro lens with the selfie ring light below.
https://www.amazon.com/Xenvo-iPhone-Camera-Lens-Clip/dp/B01A6D2JVI/ref=asc_df_B01A6D2JVI?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80401840125240&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584001418843498&psc=1

Selfie Ring Light - When you get close to the insect, the phone blocks the light. Use the ring light to eliminate shadows on your subject. Be sure to get model XJ-19 because the clip on the other one doesn't fit. At the moment, this product appears to be out of stock, but hopefully will be back soon. The battery only lasts a couple of hours, so you might want to get two if you start mothing a lot.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NDGX681/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

To use the two together, hold the ring light in one hand with the light side facing up and open the clip.
I like to hold it open with a little twist-tie. Hold the Xenvo clip with the other hand, lens platform facing up (no lens attached). Open the Xenvo clip and clip it around the ring light's bottom half. Attach the Xenvo macro lens to its platform and now you're ready to clip the whole thing to your phone. If your phone has multiple camera lenses, see https://www.xenvopro.com/ for instructions on how to determine which lens to use.

For the light station, you'll need a reflective surface for insects to land on and light(s).
I like to use full-size bed sheets for portability. You can also use duck cloth (not canvas). Bed sheets are light and easy to set up but need to be secured well if it's windy. Duck cloth is much heavier, so flaps less, but needs much sturdier support (think porch columns or steel posts). I usually hang my sheet on a pair of double shepherd's hooks with a 6' garden pole across the top and attach the sheet with clothespins.

You can also drape your sheet on the side of a vehicle and attach with 25mm magnets:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L7QV914/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can also use a white opaque rain barrel! The 35-gallon size will fit in a small sedan. Hang one or two (recommend two) UV light bars inside, attached to portable charger on top. Stuff the bung hole with something, like a sock, so you don't collect critters inside. Ours were acquired from Galveston Bay Foundation at their rain barrel sales.

USB UV light bar:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G9XYF9C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I recently bought a UV light from Entoquip.com and really like it. It's not USB so you'll need a portable power station for it,

For more equipment suggestions, see sambiology's journal post of July 14, 2023: https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/sambiology/archives/2023/07

For general mothing how-to's, go to nationalmothweek.org and check out their Finding Moths tab. There is even a series of short videos in Video Library.

Where to go? Any place with lots of native plants, and the less light pollution the better. Be sure to check out your own backyard! Have fun!

We've had great fun this summer! Several new species and sub-100's were found for each location last month. A rare wasp was found at Exploration Green. See https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/176980341 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/176912276. Even more exciting, at Deer Park last month, Derek Hudgins (tdhudgins) logged a beetle never before reported in iNaturalist! See https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/174789510.

Aug 26 - Saturday - 8p to 11p
Lawther-Deer Park Prairie
https://texasprairie.org/deerpark/
1222 E. Purdue Lane, Deer Park 77536
Please park on the school side of the street, not in front of neighbors' homes.
Visitors will need to sign a liability release form.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=189476&subview=map

Sep 2 and Oct 7 - Saturday - Sunset to 10p
Monthly Moth Night at Exploration Green
16203 Diana Ln, Houston, TX 77062 (park in main parking lot and walk downhill)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=120329&subview=map

See you there!

I'm happy (because mothing makes me happy) to share a series of blacklighting events in the Greater Houston Area for July, moth month! All events are free and open to the public. If you know of others, please let me know.

July 1 and August 5 - Saturday - Sunset to 10p
Monthly Moth Night at Exploration Green
16203 Diana Ln, Houston, TX 77062 (park in main parking lot and walk downhill)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=120329&subview=map

July 8 - Saturday - 8:15p to 11p
Night-critter Bioblitz at Russ Pitman Park (Nature Discovery Center)
7112 Newcastle St, Bellaire, TX 77401
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=161748&subview=map

July 15 - Saturday - 8p to 10p
Meet Your Nighttime Neighbors at Sugar Land Memorial Park
15300 University Blvd, Sugar Land, TX 77479
Park in the main parking lot, then follow the tables and blacklight stations along walking paths to the Butterfly Garden at the windmill.

July 22 - Saturday - 8p to 11p
Lawther-Deer Park Prairie
1222 E. Purdue Lane, Deer Park 77536
Register here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10AF7XxRRHOnIzb2iDukr0znABGEBtxvHrXIUXm_iqJ0/edit?usp=sharing
Please park on the school side of the street, not in front of neighbors' homes.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&project_id=deer-park-prairie-biodiversity&subview=map

July 29 - Saturday - 9p to 11p
Trinity River NWR
601 FM 1011, Liberty, TX

I look forward to seeing/meeting you at one or more of these!