One of the goals of backyard science is to gather data on biodiversity at the local level. Insects represent the most diverse group of organisms to sample in residential areas without the use of specialized equipment. However gathering data on insects in a systematic manner is not easy. With the exception of things like butterflies and dragonflies they can't simply be observed through visual inspection - too much of the diversity is hidden in vegetation, dead leaves, etc. That's where black lights come in.
Everyone knows that many insects are attracted to lights. Insects have used the moon and stars to navigate in the dark for many millions of years. They have not evolved with bright lights close to them and their attempts to navigate via porch lights results in confused insects swarming around human generated light.
Entomologists have exploited this tendency by broadcasting light at night onto a sheet or other large reflective surface. This provides a substrate for attracted insects to land upon for ease of observation and collecting. A black light is a low energy/low frequency UV light which broadcasts light in spectrums bare visible or invisible to humans but highly visible to most insects.
On several evenings earlier this fall I draped a sheet over two bird feeder poles and hung my newly purchased black light from one pole. Here are some of the larger and more easily photographed organisms. Most are nocturnal insects but a few such as the damselfly above are diurnal and lured into activity by the light.
One of the earliest finds was this grizzled mantis, Gonatista grisea, a really spectacular insect
its 'licheny' camouflage coloration is quite amazing
One thing you will notice going through this diary is that the larger specimens have better photos than the small. This is partly due to the limitations of the macro function on the camera. But it is largely due to the large amount of sheet in the images of smaller insects which results in over exposure with the flash.
Each night of sampling was a bit different. But in every night the dominant larger insects on the sheet were moths.
There were also many smaller moths, midges and mosquitoes, and small bugs and plant hoppers that were unphotographable.
The first night (Sept. 12) was the night of the Orthoptera.
Including this small cricket
This Scudderia katydid. Note that this individual has lost one of its hind legs, a not uncommon occurrence. This is a female, the curved structure at the end of the abdomen is the ovipositor, an egg laying organ.
Here is the same image expanded. Note the dark spot close to the 'elbow' of the leg projecting above the back of the insect. This is a tympanum, one of its ears.
The same night I also found another katydid in a close related genus, Microcentrum. These are real leaf mimics. Both of these belong to the subfamily Phaneropterine or bush katydids. Their calls are noticed much less frequently than those of the true katydids as they are quiet and simple. However the insects themselves are usually in shrubs and are seen far more often than the true katydids that call from the tops of trees.
Ten days later we had a stretch of warm nights and I black lighted frequently. This was one specimen that I brought inside and posed on firewood for a photo - a large click beetle.
Here is the underside showing the toothlike structure that produces a clicking sound when they move their abdomen violently up and down.
During the next couple of days (Sept 22-24) there were still plenty of moths
But also large numbers of Caddisflies, members of the order Trichoptera. These resemble moths but have extremely long antennae, wings covered in hairs, and large mouthparts. The larvae are aquatic.
There were also a few oddball specimens like this fly. I think it is a Midas Fly but I'm not sure.
At the end of the month there were still moths and still caddisflies but also lots of beetles that defied my efforts to take good pictures of them. Mostly they didn't hold still. This long horn beetle was more cooperative. Some kind of plant hopper is right below it on the feeder pole.
There were also parasitoid wasps on the sheet from time to time. This Ichneumonid was one of the few to be large enough to be photographed.
And finally, also in late September this really odd looking lacewing (Order Neuroptera). Never one like it before.