[ncsc-moths] Location/Habitat
- From: "Marvin Smith" <ms6wood@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "ncsc-moths" <ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:59:14 -0600
Re: Merrill’s request for a little more location and habitat information:
We are in the northern Boston Mountains region of the Ozark Plateau, usually
just called the Ozark Mountains. North-central Arkansas. (Latitude: North 35
degrees 48 min. Longitute: West 92 degrees 46 min.) Elevation is 1600 feet.
We’re in a small hollow a few hundred feet down from the ridge top. The hollow
protects us from the worst of the wind, but also means we have no scenic vistas
nor can we receive any digital wireless signals, though we do often receive
wintery precipitation that doesn’t fall in Bear Creek Valley below.
In general, the surrounding area of Searcy county is a chopped up mixture of
woods (mixed hardwoods and pines) and minimally developed cow pastures and hay
fields. There are no large sections of undeveloped land (like national
forests) in this part of the county. It was once small farms, but with the
disappearance of viable regional markets, raising cattle is pretty much the
only agricultural activity remaining. The same is true for the area
immediately surrounding our homestead: About a 50/50 mixture of mixed
hardwoods and pine and pastures. Most of the woods were logged over 50-60
years ago. Many of the pastures include “waste area” around their margins
where a variety of weeds and wildflowers grow. Ditto for the area immediately
surrounding our house. Because of our very hilly and rough terrain, most
pastures are relatively small and unconnected. Ditto for the woods. Flatter
land was (is still being) cleared for pastures while rougher land remains
wooded.
Equipment: Thus far, I’ve been able to get all the moths I can keep up with
photographing and identifying using just our “porch light”, two 50W halogen
floodlights. My success can probably be attributed to the fact we are isolated
from competing light sources. We are 16 miles from the closest small town and a
mile from our nearest neighbor. I did experiment with a Wally World UV toward
the end of summer, but didn’t notice any obvious difference in the quantity or
variety of moths attracted. I also experiment with baiting during the fall,
enjoying some success, but not attracting any moth species I wasn’t also seeing
under my lights.
Marvin Smith
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