The Manitoba CDC is on the hunt for Verna's Flower Moth (Schinia verna), a relatively small moth with a bold black and white pattern on the wings. The larvae feed on the flowers and seeds of Pussytoes (Antennaria). There are only four known occurrences of Verna's Flower Moth in the world, one of which is near Glenboro right here in Manitoba! The others are in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Recent searches have only found it at one site in Alberta. It is listed as Endangered under Manitoba's Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act and as Threatened under the federal Species At Risk Act. See the COSEWIC status assessment for more information (http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CW69-14-447-2005E.pdf).

The species was first described by David Hardwick in 1983 after he had discovered it four years earlier near Glenboro, and he decided to name it after his wife, Verna. It has not been found in Manitoba since Hardwick's surveys, so for the past few years, CDC staff have gone hunting for this at-risk species.

Despite our efforts identifying sites supporting lots of Pussytoes in the area where Hardwick worked, checking thousands of Pussytoe flowers for larvae, and carrying nets in hopes of finding adults on the wing, we have not yet found this species. We've found larvae in Pussytoe flowers, but identifications are thus far inconclusive.

This year, we're trying something new in our search for Verna's Flower Moth. We're setting up traps that draw moths in using ultraviolet light in case the moths fly at dusk or at night (so far we've only surveyed during the day). We've also baited the traps with a special attractant (really it's just a mixture of molasses, beer, and rum - tasty!), hoping the combination of attractants will do the trick. Stay tuned for the results!

In the meantime, check out some of the other neat stuff we found during our surveys this year!

Posted on May 29, 2018 07:41 PM by manitoba_cdc