Insects - Nature Study Using the Outdoor Hour Challenges

#22 Butterflies
#23 Moths
#24 Crickets
#25 Housefly
#26 Ladybugs/Aphids
#27 Bees
#28 Dragonflies/Damselflies

Winter Wednesday - Winter Insect Study
Ants (Spring)
Mosquito
Moths and Fireflies
Crickets, Grasshoppers, and Katydids
Leaf-Miners and Leaf-Rollers
Yellow Jackets and Mud Daubers (Summer Sizzle)

Our Moth Study: Summer 2010

Summer Series 2010 Outdoor Hour Challenge for Fireflies and Moths

Since we do not have fireflies in our part of the world, this will be the second time we have studied moths using the Outdoor Hour Challenges. During the summer of 2008 we completed a moth study while on our camping trip. Moths seem to be one of those creatures that we don't pay too much attention to as we go about our regular business.

The Discover Nature At Sundown book gave us some really good ways to tell moths and butterflies apart, along with wonderful illustrations of the parts of a moth. We are going to continue our study of moths as we have subjects come our way.

Here are a few moths we have seen in the past.


Forget me not moth


Moth we saw on a trip to Oregon that I would love to know the name of if anyone out there has it. Hint, hint.

We have been watching for moths in our garden in the evenings but the best place to observe them is actually in the house. I many times come into the kitchen in the morning and find a few moths clinging to the bottom of the nightlight. I scoop them up and take them back outside.

We did find some signs of spiders in the garden during the day this week. There has been a return of the webs on our crepe myrtle. I was able to capture a few in photos and even one photo of the spider that I think must be making the webs. Any ideas would be appreciated.






See the spider inside the web? These are fantastic webs to look at and they are complex as well as beautiful.

So much for a firefly and moth study....we never feel defeated though. Our advance preparation seems to always pay off in one way or another. I am confident that we will someday be in a position to study fireflies up close and personal.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

OHC Summer Series #8 Moths and Fireflies

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Summer Series #8 Moths and Fireflies

Train Your Senses

• Sight: In the evenings, look for moths around outdoor lights. Look for the feathery antennae, the wings, and the eyes of the moth. Look for fireflies if they live in your area, noting their flight patterns and their light flashes.
• Touch: If you have the opportunity, carefully feel the wings of a moth.

Inside Preparation Work:
1. Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 367 to 369 (Lesson 90) for fireflies and pages 310 to 329 (Lessons 72-76) for information about moths.

2. Read in Discover Nature at Sundown pages 93 to 114 for lots of wonderful information and suggestions for activities to study your local moths. Also, read pages 116 to 127 to learn more about fireflies and suggestions for their study.


Wild Forget Me Not moth- day flying moth

Outdoor Hour Time:

“After the outdoor observations have been made, collect some of these beetles in the evening with a sweep net; place them under a glass jar or tumbler, so that their light can be studied at close range.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 368

1. If you live in an area that has fireflies, plan on taking your fifteen minutes of outdoor time this week in the evening hours.

Some suggestions for studying fireflies:

• Where do the fireflies gather? Field, meadow, stream, woods, over lawns?
• Are they up high near the treetops or low to the ground?
• Describe their flight pattern. Is it straight and fast, slow and curving?
• Is there a pattern to the light flashing? What color are the flashes?

2. Looking for moths to observe will mean another evening time study. Turn on a light outside or use a flashlight or lantern. Most moths are attracted to light so you should have some success if you are patient. Make sure to look on walls and plants near the light for moths. Moths are also night flower pollinators so look in your garden as well.


Here is a website for further tips: How to Start Mothing.
You can collect a few moths in a jar and look at them with a hand lens before releasing them.

Follow-Up Activity:
The Handbook of Nature Study suggests making watercolor drawings of moths. If you have a real life specimen it will be a great way to encourage close observation. You can also use reference photos for moths you observed in your Outdoor Hour Time (do a quick Google image search). If you have a real-life specimen of a firefly, use the suggestions in the Handbook of Nature study to examine your firefly and then sketch it in your nature journal. You can use the notebook pages and coloring pages provided in the ebook for the moth and the firefly or your own blank journal.

If you would like all the Summer Series Challenges in one place, I have an ebook gathered for you to purchase for your convenience. Here is a link to a complete description:
Summer Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges

Hummingbird Moth or White-Lined Sphinx Moth

Another gift this morning....a hummingbird moth or a white-lined sphinx moth. (click this link for a better look at what we saw this morning)

I heard this guy in the skylight of the kitchen last night but I couldn't get him to come down so I could see what sort of moth he was. This morning as I was sipping my morning cup of coffee, he buzzed right over to collect some nectar from the vase of flowers on my kitchen table. Can you believe that? We all watched as he hovered around the flowers and then up over the table. This was our first experience with a hummingbird moth and it was fantastic.

He flew up to the ceiling and landed in the corner. Please excuse the really ugly background for this beautiful moth. We re in the middle remodeling our living room and he landed right in the dusty corner where we are sheetrocking....of course.

I pulled out my Handbook of Nature Study and I was surprised to find that there is a complete section on hummingbird and sphinx moths, pages 320-325.

"The have long, rather narrow, strong wings which enable them to fly with extraordinary rapidity. ...Their colors show most harmonious combinations and most exquisite contrasts; the pattern, although often complex, shows perfect refinement.....Most of the sphinx moths have remarkably long tongues, which are sometimes twice the length of the body."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 321

This was a very interesting insect to read about and I will be on the look out now for more of them. I read in the Handbook that they especially like petunias, morning glories, and nasturtiums which are all planted in my new garden from the spring!

Another gift....thank you.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Moths of All Sorts-Outdoor Hour Challenge #23

This week's challenge was to focus on insects and moths in particular. We were able to see lots of moths close-up this week when we were camping. Once you turn on the lantern and set it on the table, watch out! Moths come a flying!

Here are some of the many moths we observed during the week. We were able to get good photos by turning on two lanterns and using one to attract the moths and one to light the moth for the photo. I did not use the flash on the camera.







I don't think this one is a moth but some other sort of insect that is attracted to the light.


The next set of photos is from the back porch. I turned on the porch light and a little while later, we had plenty of insects that were sitting on the wall near the light. We were able to get good photos by shining a flashlight on the insect and then turning the flash off on the camera to take each one close-up.








Edit: Roberta says this is an adult cabbage looper. I think it looks right to me. :) Thanks Roberta.


This looks more like a green lacewing than a moth but it was sure attracted to the light.


I have not taken the time to try to identify all these insects. I have a really hard time with that part of insect nature study. I spend hours and hours pouring through the field guides and rarely do I find what I am looking for. Insects are really hard to identify but we will persevere and try to update this entry as we find the names for these critters.

My son is going to help me identify the insects and make his journal entry on one of the moths we identify. He prefers to use a spiral bound sketchbook for his nature journal instead of notebooking pages.

We found this website informational:
How to Start Mothing



Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Outdoor Hour Challenge #23 Moths

This week we will continue our mini-focus on insects with a study of moths. The Handbook of Nature Study has several sections on moths that you can read whether you think you will find those particular kinds in your area or not. I found the information very easy to read and now I can apply the suggestions for observation with just about any kind of moth. We do have Isabella Tiger moths in our area so I will be especially on the lookout for those when we do our observations. We will be going camping soon so it will be a perfect time to watch the moths that come to the lantern.

“Not only are insects numerous when we regard individuals, but the number of species is far greater than that of all other animals taken together. The number of species in a single family is greater in several cases than the number of stars visible in a clear night.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 295

Outdoor Hour Challenge #23 Focus on Insects-Moths

1. In this challenge we will continue our mini-focus on insects. Turn to the table of contents in the Handbook of Nature Study and skim down the list of moths discussed in the book. Read those sections in the Handbook of Nature Study on moths, pages 310 to 329. I personally don’t know much about moths so I am going to read through all the sections and see what I can learn. Here is some general information.

Moths
Wings not attached
Nocturnal (active at night)
Wings flat when resting
Feathered antennae
Fat abdomen
Form a cocoon

Butterflies
Wings hooked together in flight
Diurnal (active in the day)
Wings upright when resting
Straight, plain antennae
Thin Abdomen
Form a chrysalis

2. This challenge will need to be completed in the evenings. Turn on a light outside or take a flashlight outside. Moths are attracted to light so you should have some success if you are patient. Make sure to look on walls and plants near the light for moths.

Try this website for further techniques in attracting moths.
Attracting Moths
http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/uploads/How%20to%20start%20mothing.pdf

If you are unable to complete the challenge this week for moths, please feel free to take your outdoor time at a time that works for you family. Use your time to look for insects and to enjoy the summer air and sunshine.

3. After you have your outdoor time, provide an opportunity for working on a nature journal entry. This might be a good time to discuss the differences between butterflies and moths. If you didn't see any moths, you can record in your nature journal any other kinds of insects that you found during your outdoor time.

4. If you observe more than one kind of moth this week, make sure to start a list of moths in your nature journal. I like to keep a running list in the back of my nature journal. If you observed some other kinds of insects during the week, record those too.

5. Post an entry on your blog sharing your experiences and then come back to the Outdoor Hour Challenge post and add your blog link to Mr. Linky. All the challenges are listed on the sidebar and top tabs of the Handbook of Nature Study blog.

Outdoor Hour Challenge #23 Moths (complete set of insect challenges in one document)

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

You may be interested in other insect challenges here on the Handbook of Nature Study:
#22 Butterflies
#24 Crickets
#25 Housefly
#26 Ladybirds/Aphids
#27 Bees
#28 Dragonflies/Damselflies

Winter Wednesday - Winter Insect Study
Ants (Spring)
Mosquito
Moths and Fireflies
Crickets, Grasshoppers, and Katydids
Leaf-Miners and Leaf-Rollers