The purpose of this Blog is to make a visual list of the moths that I have photographed over 6+ years on our 1 hectare property just North of Toowoomba in Queensland Australia.
A visual list is necessary, since restricting the publishing of moth photos to only those I can positively identify could mean leaving out up to half the moths that could be living in this area.
I have found around 540 species that I have been able to identify with reasonable accuracy, sometimes with help from other moth hunters. There are about 150 photos I have yet to identify,
This
is far more species than I ever believed possible,
and it has taken a great deal of time searching out photos
and information to try to identify the various species.
Mostly the moths are photographed live on a large window and they are mostly attracted by house lighting or a small UV "party light". Occasionally for difficult situations I will use catch and release techniques but this is a rare exception.
Although
I still have photos of moths that I have not been able to identify, they
probably will remain unidentified. The amount of time needed to identify
the more difficult moths makes it a less pleasant task.
I make every effort to identify the moths correctly, however positive identification by photo only, down to species level is not 100% reliable. The usual method of positive identification is by dissecting the moth or DNA.
I will continue to monitor the Blog and will continue to follow the moths here and will put any identifiable moths on the blog, however the combination of severe drought, local habitat changes and a massive drop in the number of all insects makes it less likely we will see many if any new moths.
A few wet years may see a lift in the insect numbers.
I hope visitors to this Blog have enjoyed the
moths and what little information I have been able to provide, it has
been a wonderful learning experience for me.
Happy Mothing
Don
Updated October 2024
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