New online checklist of the moths of Ontario
An online checklist of the 3,248 species of moths recorded in Ontario is now posted on the TEA website:
https://ontarioinsects.org/mothchecklist/
A key benefit of this checklist is that for every species, most of the online information about that species is provided in one place. Using the Luna Moth as an example, there is a link to its iNaturalist page (showing the number of records and a map), its BugGuide page, and its Moth Photographers Group page. The number of iNaturalist records as of the end of January (research-grade only) and the page number in the Peterson Field Guide are also shown.
The species table is fully searchable. For example, entering "2020" in the search box will display the 25 moths species first documented in Ontario in this past year.
The table is available for download, so anyone can change it to suit their own needs -- perhaps as a basis for keeping their own records of species seen.
An instructions page explains how to use the table:
https://ontarioinsects.org/mothchecklist/instructions.html
Another way to find it is to look at the menu bar on the left of every TEA page and click on "Moth Checklist" (click refresh on your browser if you don't see it).
The list of species has been provided by David Beadle, Mike King (@mhking) and Phill Holder, and is an update of the list included in their 2020 publication Ontario Moths: A Checklist (Hawk Owl Publishing, Newcastle, ON). That list, in turn, is an update of the Pohl et al. (2018) Ontario list. The computer work was done by Alan Macnaughton in collaboration with Chris Cheatle, Ross Dickson and Bev Edwards. A similar list maintained by Ken Sproule (@kens18) for the High Park Moth Study Group was the inspiration for this effort.
Please send comments, questions and suggestions for improvement to Dave Beadle (@dbeadle) and Alan Macnaughton (@amacnaughton).