August – A good month for Underwings

With snow and temperatures barely above freezing, here in Calgary, the high temperatures of August already seem like a distant memory.  August was certainly my best month on record for Underwings.  On the 15th, 13 Underwings of 4 species in the bait trap was a record for my backyard.  I don’t think I’ve had any Underwings in the light trap this year but the bait trap has been very productive.  I’m not sure if it made a real difference but this was the first year that I used Pineapple.  Other ingredients were banana, grapes, a dash of maple syrup and any other fruit that came to hand… Actually, described like that it almost sounds like a nice desert recipe!  

The following are the 5 species of Underwing that  I have seen in my backyard this year.  The moth that I believe is a Once-married Underwing Moth (Catocala unijuga) was definitely the largest Underwing that I have seen.