Lynn Scott's
Lepidoptera
Index
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Books and other Resources for Identifying Moths
Many moths can be identified on the basis of their external appearance and gross physical characteristics. Some, however, can only be positively identified through close observation of specific characteristics, through dissection and examination of genitalia, or through DNA analysis.
As an amateur lepidopterist, I rely mainly on identification by external appearance, and turn to experts for identifications that require dissection or DNA. In addition to gross physical appearance, published information on flight season and habitat is also useful for identification.
For my own identification work, I rely on a number of well-illustrated books, supplemented from time to time by specific published articles, and on several websites. In using these resources, I look for multiple illustrations and reliable identifications of the species by acknowledged experts.
My most-used references for identification include the following books and websites:
Biodiversity Institute of Ontario. All Leps Barcode of Life: Images of North America at http://www.lepbarcoding.org/level_images.php?campaign=nth_am
This website illustrates moth species that have been included to date in a massive project to assemble DNA "barcodes" for all species of lepidoptera, from specimens identified through the work of a team of taxonomic specialists from a variety of institutions, under the leadership of Dr. Paul Hebert of the University of Guelph. A few of the specimens photographed and captured by Lynn Scott are among those illustrated as spread specimens on the All Leps website, as noted when the live illustrations are used on Lynn Scott's website.
Charles V. Covell, Jr. A Field Guide to the Moths of Eastern North America (Boston: Houghton Mifflin (Peterson Field Guide Series), 1984).
Charles V. Covell, Jr. A Field Guide to the Moths of Eastern North America (Martinsville, VA: Virginia Museum of Natural History Special Publication Number 12, 2005).
This field guide illustrates over 1300 species of moth, some in color and some in black and white, mainly macrolepidoptera but also a sampling of microlepidoptera. The introduction to the 2005 edition updates some of the information on classification of species, but the 2005 edition is otherwise identical to the 1984 edition. It includes some information on moth anatomy and on collecting and spreading specimens. General range, flight season and habitat information is given for each species illustrated, together with a list of larval food plants where known, and a description of key field marks.
Louis Handfield. Le Guide des Papillons du Québec (version scientifique) (Boucherville: Broquet, 1999).
This field guide illustrates nearly 1500 species of macro-moth known to occur in the province of Quebec. This scientific edition provides color plates separate from the text, and includes photographs of multiple specimens for many of those species that are variable in appearance. The text (in French) provides detailed information as to localities, flight seasons and larval food plants, with a wealth of reference information. It also includes some information on moth anatomy and on collecting and spreading specimens. Although the text is in French, the nature of much of the information makes it accessible to users who have minimal or no facility with the French language.
Ronald W. Hodges, editor-in-chief. The Moths of America North of Mexico (Eugene, OR: Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, 1970-present).
The Moths of America North of Mexico is a series of scholarly fascicles treating of families or parts of families of moths, which have been published at irregular intervals since 1970. The series includes Hodges, Ronald W. et al., Check List of the Lepidoptera of America North of Mexico (London: E.W. Classey Limited and The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, 1983), which provides the then-current classification and list of North American moths and butterflies, and which is the source of the "Hodges numbers" still commonly used as a tool for organizing moths by name and family. Each of the fascicles is very well illustrated, supplementing the detailed descriptions of the anatomy of each species included. Many families of lepidoptera remain to be included in the series, but individual fascicles are very helpful for obtaining detailed information and illustrations for specific families, especially some of the micro-lepidoptera.
Bob Patterson, webmaster. North American Moth Photographers Group at http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/MainMenu.shtml
This website was initiated as a collaborative effort by moth photographers to bring together illustrations of living specimens of North American moths in a single place, supplemented by photographs of spread specimens. More than 6000 species are represented as spread specimens, and more than 2000 species as living moths. Most of the identifications are reliable, although a few errors creep in from time to time. Lynn Scott was among the original group of photographers invited by Bob Patterson to participate, and many of the Lynn Scott photographs on this website are also included in the Moth Photographers Group website.
Roy W. Rings, Eric H. Metzler, Fred J. Arnold and David H. Harris. The Owlet Moths of Ohio: Order Lepidoptera Family Noctuidae (Columbus, OH: Ohio Biol. Surv. Bull. New Series Vol. 9, no. 2, 1992).
This book provides an annotated checklist of the noctuid moths of Ohio, including information on localities, flight seasons and larval hosts where known. It includes black and white plates illustrating caterpillars and eggs for a few species, and color plates illustrating adults of nearly 300 species for which there were few or no accessible illustrations at the time of publication. It also refers readers to other sources for illustrations of the species listed.
John Snyder, webmaster. Web Images of North American Moth Species at http://facweb.furman.edu/~snyderjohn/leplist/
This website contains links to nearly 6300 species of moth, adults and/or larvae, from many sources on the Internet. The site includes a disclaimer as to identifications, and some of the species linked may have been misidentified by the individuals who originally posted the photos.
J. T. Troubridge and J.D. Lafontaine. The Moths of Canada. Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility at http://www.cbif.gc.ca/spp_pages/misc_moths/phps/mothindex_e.php
This website illustrates virtually all species of macro-moth known to occur in Canada, with separate sections for noctuids of Eastern and Western Canada and for geometrid moths. Several smaller families are grouped together in another section.
In addition to the images published on this website, a number of Lynn Scott's photographs of living moths have been published in books and articles, most recently in the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, by Eric R. Eaton and Kenn Kaufman (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2007).
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