- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The insects, that is.
Bohart Museum of Entomology research associate John "Moth Man" De Benedictus and colleagues set up a blacklighting display during the Bohart's annual Moth Night, held July 20, hoping to find a diversity of moths and other night-flying insects.
"We saw just three species," he said, listing them as:
- Pelochrista eburata, a tortricid moth with no common name
- Platynota stultana, a tortricid known as the Omnivorous Leafroller Moth, and
- Ephestiodes gilvescentella, a pyralid moth known as the Dusky Raisin Moth.
Entomologists study and collect nocturnal insects with blacklighting. They hang a white sheet, affix an ultraviolet light, and await the arrival of moths, beetles and other insects drawn to the light.
What else arrived from 10 to 11 p.m.? "Numerous small flies, a couple of earwigs, a large longhorn beetle (probably Prionus californicus), and a few green lacewings," he reported.
In comparison, the 2019 Moth Night resulted in these finds:
Family Tineidae:
Opogona omoscopa (Opogona crown borer)
Family Tortricidae:
Clepsis peritana
Platynota stultana (omnivorous leafroller)
Cydia latiferreana (filbertworm)
Family Pyralidae:
Achyra rantalis (garden webworm)
Ephestiodes gilvescentella (dusky raisin moth)
Cadra figuliella
Family Geometridae:
Digrammia muscariata
Family Noctuidae:
Spodoptera exigua (beet armyworm)
Spodoptera praefica (western yellow-striped armyworm)
Parabagrotis formais
De Benedictus has blacklighted for 37 years. His moth collection of some 600 species from the Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve and 300 species from his backyard in Davis is housed in the Bohart Museum.
De Benedictus displayed his collection that includes the Dusky Raisin Moth, "the most common moth in Davis," he said. It's been recorded not only in California and Arizona, but in Oklahoma, Utah, Montana, Alberta an British Columbia. The moth is so named because its larvae feed on raisins (as well as prunes, walnuts, yeast and the like).
De Benedictus, who holds a master's degree in entomology (1998) from UC Berkeley, studied with major professor and noted entomologist Jerry Powell (1933-2023).
"Jerry Powell once estimated that there are about 17,000 North American butterflies and moths," De Benedictus commented. "I would not be surprised if it's closer to 20,000."
Every year De Benedictus helps coordinates the "Mid-Winter Lepidopterist Gatherings," a legacy of Powell. The gatherings are traditionally held annually at either the Essig Museum or the Bohart Museum "for colleagues to exchange information on moths and butterflies."
The Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, is the home of a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a live petting zoo and a gift shop. Director is Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and associate dean, Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
More information is available on the website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu or by emailing bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
During the 11th annual National Moth Week, one thing's for sure:
Beekeepers won't be celebrating the beauty, life cycle, or habitat of the Greater Wax Moth (Galleria mellonella), also known as "the honeycomb moth." It's a major pest of bee colonies that aren't maintained well.
During the night, when we are sleeping, these female wax moths slip into bee hives and lay their eggs. The eggs hatch into larvae which consume honeycomb, leaving a destructive mess. The Greater Wax Moth is the most destructive comb pest, while the Lesser Wax Moth (smaller) is less serious.
In his book, Honey Bee Hobbyist: the Care and Keeping of Honey Bees, UC Davis emeritus entomology professor Norm Gary, explains that that the females wax moth "lays eggs at night in the cracks and cervices outside and inside the hive. Tiny tax-moth larvae tunnel through the combs--eating as they go--and lining the tunnels with silk that affords some protection from the bees, which would cast them from the colony. As the moth larvae grow larger, they are more exposed and vulnerable and are cast out of the hive by housecleaning bees."
Beekeepers remove the frames and freeze them, killing the larvae and any other pests that that might be in there--such as small hive beetles (Aethina tumida).
In its fact sheet on wax moths, the Mid-Atlantic Apicultural Research and Extension Consortium (MAAREC), says that "Beekeepers will never completely win the battle against wax moth. It is an insect well adapted for surviving around bee colonies."
MAAREC, however, describes the larvae as "a mixed blessing." The larvae are "raised for use as fish bait, animal feed, and scientific research and they are a good representative insect to use in Biology and Entomology classes. Beekeepers see the wax moth as a pest."
Meanwhile, it's National Moth Week, and a good time to head over to the Bohart Museum of Entomology Moth Night open house on Saturday, July 30 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building at 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.
Indoors you'll see the Bohart Museum's global collection of moths, and outside, within a short walking distance, you'll see moths and other insects hanging on a white sheet in theblacklighting display. They are drawn there by an ultraviolet (UV) light. Yes, you'll see wax moth specimens.
"Yes, we have plenty of Greater Wax Moths as well as Lesser Wax Moths and a few other Pyralids that were reared from bumble bee nests," said entomologist Jeff Smith, who curates the Lepidoptera collection. (See Bug Squad blog about what Jeff Smith says about the collection)
The open house is free, family friendly and open to the public. Folks are invited to bring photos or moth specimens from their house, yard or neighborhood that they would like help in identifying, said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. There also will be a craft activity, cookies, and "hot cocoa for anyone who needs help staying up past their bedtime," Yang quipped.
The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946 and directed by Lynn Kimsey, UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology, houses a worldwide collection of eight million insects. It also houses a live "petting zoo" (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantulas) and a insect-themed gift shop.