Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies)
We have plenty of species of this group and almost all of them are brightly coloured and attractive, to the extent that it must be a sad person who does not enjoy seeing them - almost as much as they enjoy seeing birds. Some 80-90% of the Lepidoptera are moths so if in doubt about what you are looking at maybe assume moth until proven otherwise.
The separation of the Lepidoptera into moths and butterflies is not, as many think, simply butterflies are out in the day and moths in the dark. It’s not as clear cut as that and it’s not even true, there being moths that are not nocturnal and some butterflies that at least fly in the low dusk and dawn light. Two of the more reliable ways to separate the groups are these:
(1) Take a look at the antennae. A butterfly’s antennae are club-shaped with a long shaft and a bulb at the end. A moth’s antennae are feathery or saw-edged.
(2) Butterflies often fold their wings vertically up over their backs when at rest. Moths are more likely to to hold their wings in a tent-like manner that hides the abdomen and come to a rest with wings spread sideways.
Butterflies need heat from external sources such as the sun to raise their body temperatures enough for them to become active and fly. Moths on the other hand rest during the day in sheltered environments. Like butterflies, moths need heat, but they can generate heat themselves by vibrating their wings. Many of the other features of the two groups are the same though. They all hatch as caterpillars from eggs, eat, grow and pupate before emerging as winged adults to repeat the cycle.
There are over 200 butterflies and moths that have been recorded near my home on the West Island of Montreal. Lepidoptera are everywhere - despite populations falling along with most other insect groups due to habitat loss and climate change. Of these, perhaps the one butterfly that everyone knows about and jumps up and down in excitement if they see one is the Monarch.
There has been so much written about these fascinating and vulnerable insects in recent years that it would be hard not to know about them. Many gardeners have planted milkweed to try to attract them and Baie-D’Urfé even has a large patch in the park on Stafford that is devoted primarily to milkweed. It’s a good plant to grow even if there are few Monarchs around as although the Monarch caterpillars can only thrive on the leaves of the plants the flowers are very nectar rich and support a large number of other insects that stop by for a feed. As you know, Monarchs are migratory butterflies with several generations between their time in the north with us and their wintering down in Mexico for the most part. They are just about holding their own and every little we can do to help by providing milkweed, for example, that they lay eggs on will help.
Mind you, while we grow milkweed even if the Monarchs give us a pass some years there are many other important insects that will benefit. That holds pretty true for most native plant species actually - a subject I will return to at some point.
Other butterflies you can hope to see during the year include White and Red Admirals, Painted Lady, the gorgeous orange and black Great Spangled Fritillary (check the glades near the Canada 150 trail in the Arboretum), and of course the large Mourning Cloak butterfly, a species that spans the northern parts of the globe and is known in Europe as the Camberwell Beauty. Large and impressive are the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Giant Swallowtail, and Black Swallowtail butterflies … and I haven’t even started on the several tiny species of blue butterflies or the iniquitous Cabbage White. The majority of those species can be observed in a garden that grows at least a corner of native flowers and bushes and certainly in the parks, the Arboretum and the overgrown roadside verges.
So that’s the iconic butterfly species. What would be a similarly attractive and interesting moth? I think I would single out two for particular mention. Often seen in gardens and sunny glades are the two related species of Clearwing moths - the Snowberry Clearwing and the Hummingbird Clearwing, the former being most common. Then rather rarer but certainly present in the Arboretum down the road, is the amazing and colourful Virginia Ctenucha Moth. Nothing at all drab and moth-like about that insect. The Clearwing Moths are about the size of a child’s thumb and will be seen hovering over flowers and sucking nectar from them with their extensive long proboscis. The common name of Hummingbird Moth was given to them for a good reason as their size and behaviour are remarkably similar to the tiny birds.
The Ctenucha Moth is a gem. They are quite large and are a daylight flying species with dark gray, almost black, wings and a bright orange head and shiny blue thorax and abdomen. None of the dull browns and grey people often expect. The antennae are particular long and prominent. The caterpillars feed on grasses, sedge, and irises and two generations can be produced each year. The caterpillar may be black or white with black-tipped white or yellow bristles all over and has been described as being rather like a multicolored pipe cleaner.
There are just so many moths and, it has to be said, a good number are dull browns and greys and nocturnal too so they are less likely to be detected by the questing eye. Do though look out for the colourful Squash Vine Borer Moth, if only to persuade it not to lay its eggs anywhere the squash you are lovingly growing. You will see the caterpillars of Tent Caterpillar Moths in many trees during summer though the adults will not be easy to find. The summer of 2021 was disastrous year for the widespread defoliation done to West Island trees by the caterpillars of the Gypsy Moth … a species renamed temporarily as the LDS Moth from the initials of its Latin name but now the entomology community have settled on calling it the Spongy Moth. Gypsy, for obvious reason, is nowadays considered to be inappropriate.
Make sure to look out for Plume Moths which are quite bizarre. In flight they look pretty much like any other moth but at rest they full their wings into tightly rolled cylinders that stick out at right-angles to their bodies. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not draw your attention to the delightfully named Beautiful Wood Nymph moth. It is remarkable for the fact that when at rest on a leaf with its wings folded it look uncannily similar to a large blob of white and black bird faeces - a remarkable effective example of protective colouration.
You may be lucky enough to see the Cecropia Moth - the largest, it is huge, of all the moth species of North America - the one shown below emerged from its cocoon in the Garden at Fritz just down the road from where I am writing this.
The Lepidoptera are fascinating and a study in themselves - both adult and caterpillar stages. There are plenty of books and websites devoted to their study and identification if you wish to know more.
Next week: Diptera (Flies) will be featured
Moths are much underrated in my opinion. I found a plume moth sitting quite casually on a rubbish bin in our street a few weeks ago, which was a surprise.
Here in Edinburgh (and Scotland in general) we're having a better year for butterflies than we've had for a few years. We've just come back from a holiday in Dumfries and Galloway in the south west and on one walk we saw over 50 Red Admirals, which was astonishing