My selected bark patch as it appeared last night. Click/double click to enlarge
Let’s end National Moth Week with a quick backyard activity that takes just a few minutes and requires only a good flashlight. Feel free to add a camera – even a good cell phone camera works for this – if you’d like!
Begin by selecting a tree with a heavily ridged or lichen-covered trunk. Select several large furrows in the bark or among the lichens. Make a mental note of where these surface irregularities lie, and select several easily identifiable spots. Return to the house, come back out, and see if you can find those exact locations again. Once you can do this, you are ready for a night observation!
Several hours after dark, go out with a good flashlight, and examine each area closely. You will likely be surprised by the variety of arthropods you encounter on a single evening. If you photograph each area, be certain to upload your images, and enlarge each on your monitor. You will likely see things you missed while doing your visual examination of the areas.
The same area illuminated by my camera flash. Click/double click to enlarge.
Be certain to enlarge your images significantly on your monitor, adjust your sharpness, definition and contrast, and you may be amazed by some the portraits you are able to capture.
This moth, now greatly enlarged, was slightly off to the right center in each of the previous images. Click image to enlarge.
Things Biological 