Annaphila depicta ~ 02/25/14 ~ Pinnacles

Annaphila day-flying moth nectaring on California milkmaids
Annaphila depicta nectaring on Cardamine californica
Brassicaceae

This is the same sp. moth I photographed on March 4, 2011, but these new macro shots are much clearer.  Three years ago, I had alerted Paul Johnson, Wildlife Biologist for Pinnacles, that it was on the wing.  A couple days later he was able to net a specimen for the Park's collections.  It was a new sp. for him, and he has since confirmed its ID.  Now, he's asked my permission to store my top photo in their wildlife observation files for interpretive/educational use.  Cool.  Not bad for my 10-year-old point-and-shoot.  Paul says his DSLR makes too much noise (slap of a mirror?), which scares off this beautiful moth in a blur.  Fancy-schmancy doesn't always get the goods.  Hehe.

There's also a fabulous fly in the second photo, but I'm ID'd out.  Can you ID?

ps 03/13/14 - I noticed the first set of Hodges 9866 photos in the Moth Photographer's Group by John Davis are misidentified.  I think BugGuide got it right, and they're A. macfarlandi and should be moved to Hodges 9867.  I don't know what happened to MPG, but they don't seem to be curating their collection as well as they used to.  It happens.

margined white ~ 02/16/14 ~ Los Padres Dam

female margined white / grey-veined white

female Pieris marginalis venosa (aka Pieris napi venosa)

 male margined white nectaring on California milkmaids

nectaring on Cardamine californica
Brassicaceae

Check out the cool yellow "shoulder" in the first pic above.  I'm so glad we finally found the macro setting on our ol' camera!  A small patch of milkmaids near the water was a very popular nectaring spot, being visited by butterflies, bee flies, and honey bees. There's not much in bloom, so it's worth noting that just down the way the patch of western coltsfoot had no visitors.

I also spotted margined whites at Stevens Creek last week, which at first sight I knew were related to cabbage whites (look at that dot on the male), but second guessed myself when I went to look for an ID.  I've totally missed the margined white ID before based on the fact I rely heavily on two quick references which omit entirely or misrepresent the early spring, first brood, bold version that I find in the area.  The summer brood is apparently almost all white.  It doesn't help that there doesn't seem to be much consensus on the Pieris "napi" complex.  I need to add notations to my field guides, so I can remember this for next time.

Sara orangetip ~ 02/16/14 ~ Los Padres Dam

Sara orangetip (more pictures here and here) nectaring on California milkmaids
Anthocharis sara (more information) nectaring on Cardamine californica

Brassicaceae

Annaphila depicta ~ 03/04/11 ~ Pinnacles

a day-flying moth nectaring on California milkmaids
Annaphila depicta ssp. morula nectaring on Cardamine californica
Brassicaceae

When the first few Lepidoptera flew by me with their flashes of orange, I got excited believing I was seeing my first copper butterflies since returning to CA. Nope. It's a day flying moth! The official Pinnacles National Monument website is now including moths, instead of just butterflies. Great... except, as the PDF states, it's a work in progress. The only Annaphila they list is A. decia.

Here's a dirty little secret from my past life, I suck at identifying moths without a reference collection. So, I sent a picture to Chris Grinter of The Skeptical Moth this morning around 6:30am - gotta appreciate fellow bloggers who are up before the sun comes up. He promptly replied the following, "Love to see the moth photos. This is absolutely in the genus Annaphila (Noctuidae), and I'm comfortable calling it A. depicta. I could even take a stab at this being the subspecies 'morula' based on that pronounced brown bar on the forewing!" After comparing the very few photographs available online of Annaphila, I agree with his expert ID. Thank you, Chris!

I should mention these small moths were relatively abundant in what I affectionately term the "butterfly highway" at Pinnacles.

Plus, milkmaids were definitely the predominant blooming herbaceous perennials everywhere we hiked. Some looked more mustardy than milky. It looks like there are two varieties of C. californica (var. californica and var. cuneata) recorded from Pinnacles, but I wouldn't be able to tell you which is which or the difference.

ps - If you look closely at the second picture, there's a cute little beetle. Based on my other pictures of milkmaids, these beetles are quite abundant on this flower. However, I'm done with IDs for today.

pss 04/06/11 - Before I forget, Chris encouraged me to contact Paul Johnson of NPS. Paul and I had a couple of e-mail exchanges between March 6-9, 2011. He says he has 3 or 4 Annaphila on his Pinnacles moth list, but it's not updated and available to the public. Whether due to my e-mails or not, he did manage to catch a moth similar to the one shown above on March 7, 2011.

California milkmaids
Cardamine californica
Brassicaceae

Um... oh boy, I got an eyeful as I tried to search for more information on this plant. Makes me wonder about the etymological relationship of the family name Brassicaceae with brassiere. I might add more information once I get the boobs out of my memory.

This plant is also known as bitter-cress or toothwort. There's a small section above the waterfall trail at Garland Ranch where I can always count on seeing this small white flower in February.