Hi All,
Five free rearing sleeves (any of the standard sizes) will be given away in a membership ballot draw on April 30, 2004. You are credited with a ballot when you vote for the individual outstanding live moth image submitted in 2003.
Please vote! The many photographers who submit images and help make the WLSS what it is deserve a few minutes of your time.
Ten finalists have been selected to simplify the process.
Go to
http://www.s89032563.onlinehome.us/Finalists2003.htm
to see the ten images posted and cast your vote.
I had hundreds of images from which to chose, submitted by dozens of photographers. Many thanks to all of you whether you made the final ten or not. I limited finalists to images of live moths despite receiving many excellent images of larvae, pupae, spread specimens, time lapses, etc.. I also limited finalists to a single moth from each photographer.
I am also going to post the contest images on a non-linked URL and advertise the page on Insectnet.com so non-members can see some of your excellent work and get a feel for what is on the WLSS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Big surprise! On Friday, April 9, while out getting some firewood to warm the house, I spotted a Milbert's Tortoiseshell fluttering about on the south side of the abode.
Colouration and wing quality were very good; I had an excellent view as it landed and remained on the back door for a minute or so.
It was only 7C or about 45F, much warmer in the sun, so it must have been hibernating under some debris by the back of the house.
The nettles I'm hoping the species will utilize for egglaying have't broken the ground yet and are under at least a foot of snow (as of April 9), but SPRING is coming to P.E.I..
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
March 17, I received this note from Trey Moore:
Trey Moore
146 Cypress Tree Ln
Boulder Creek, California 95006
trey@netmagic.net
"I should have a lot of H.euryalus ova this spring. All females will be paired with wild males. Please forward my email address to any interested parties. I am most interested in trades for other livestock, if that is not possible $6.00/doz + shipping.
Thanks
Trey
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In the Florida maps section I recorded the following:
"On January 30, 2004, in Palm Bay, Florida (Brevard County) a female
polyphemus was observed at a laundramat by non-member Joan Molozaiy
(even the moths have to wash their socks!), so it would appear this
species is on the wing all months in Florida, and probably in south
Texas too!"
Joan wrote me to say the moth layed eggs and the eggs hatched about eleven days later, and today I received an email that she had her first cocoon about a week ago and three more on Thursday, April 8, from indoor rearing.
I wrote back, congratulated her, and told her to expect moths in two to three weeks. She was rearing them indoors in a school so students could watch the entire process.
It is nice to read of so many teachers giving students first hand opportunities to witness the wonders of metamorphosis. I'm sure they will be delighted when the moths hatch.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NON-MEMBER Matt Curtis writes, "I was able to rear some nice Automeris cecrops pamina, Eupackardia calleta, Hyalophera columbia gloveri (southern AZ stock). I also have Eacles oslari pupae. All of these came from ova near Pena Blanca or Harshaw, Arizona."
Matt should be a good reliable source of eggs from Arizona. His address is 2561 Country Park Drive, Prescott, AZ 86305, U.S.A.
His email is mcurtis@northlink.com.
Remember Matt is not amember of WLSS (yet) so please do not give out URL access. He may also be a source of various Hemileuca species.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I received three reports of female cecropia in mid Texas, March 16 and 17 and 26 as well as some luna and polyphemus sightings, etc. Checkout Texas distribution maps. Thanks to Joe McKoy and Robert Nuelle. See Robert's beautiful image of Texas spring luna in photography section.
Additional data from Walker County, courtesy of Robert J. Nuell, April 3, shows flight clock times for promethea, luna, polyphemus, rubicunda and io.
There is much happening in Texas with several goups of collectors out on a regular basis, Robert Weast (Iowa) searching for luna and polyphemus in the extreme south with on-site help from Fred Klusmann, and another project designed to reintroduce/repopulate at least one Texas county with cecropia.
See Members' Articles Section below.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kirby Wolfe has sent me another batch of stunning images. They are posted to the Kirby Wolfe collection and also to individual files: Cerodirphia harrisae, female and larva - E. Andes of central Peru; Dirphia centralis male and larva - E. Andes of central Peru; Hemileuca peninsularis male (WOW), female and larva - North central Baja California, Mexico; Periphoba tarapoto female - E. Peru; Rothschildia jorulloides male and larva - E. Peru
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Five new articles/reports have been posted to the Members' Articles Section:
Plan hatched to bring moth (cecropia) back to Houston area
by Dina Cappiello.
Argema mittrei Rearing Notes
by Alan Marson, March 25, 2004
Rearing Tips/Observations
by Alan Marson, March 23, 2004
Killing Fluid and Freezing Tip
by Ray Gibbons, March 19, 2004
Softening with Ammonia
by Jeff Prill, March 19, 2004
Many of you have had interesting experiences or have ideas worth sharing. I hope you will send them along. Two people sent me copies of the Dina Cappiello article. Thanks goes out to Pam Sharp and Pete Honl. Best of luck to those working on the project.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I have added two new sections to the Specialty Areas:
Aberrations and Rare Species. Check them out. John Ciseski
sent me an image of the very rare Bunaeopsis saffronica
and I have also posted some neat stuff to the Aberrations file
including some images from the Bruce Duncan collection sent
to me by Scott Smith as well as black Anisota stigma
courtesy of Robert Muller and an "albino" io, etc.
If you have rare specimens to post, send them along. If there are rare specimens already posted, please advise and I will add them to this section.
John also sent me an image of a male Automeris submacula posted to that file and an interesting Saturnia pyri in aberration file. Also checkout "broken-eye" io.
Hemileuca maia maia, form lintneri has also been posted to aberrations file as well as some other specimens with interesting wing shapes.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sphingidae flash. It seems Euproserpinus euterpe is being sighted again in the southwest. Sorry, detailed data are being kept confidential. New image up in Sphingidae site, include adults and larvae.
Dave Wikle has been succeessful in getting some of his Arctonotus lucidus to pupate. Larval and pupal images now up.
Jean Haxaire has sent me very nice images of new species Xylophanes vagliai Haxaire, 2003 from Ecuador. Also received a nice image of Eumorpha triangulum larva from Peru which I will post shortly.
Michel Lapointe sent me nice images of Manduca brontes haitiensis and Manduca johanni
I just received an image of a Pachylia ficus larva from the U.S. Virgin Islands; and I recently received an image of what I am pretty sure is an Agrius cingulata larva from Bexar, Texas.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dave Wikle also sent me very nice image of Hemileuca nevadenesis larva. Image up in that file.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Anthony Darby sent beautiful images of sixth instar Coscinocer hercules and fourth instar Rothschildia orizaba orizaba. A real Herculean monster! Image of larva and Anthony's mini-greenhouse accessed at end of C. hercules file.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Alan Marson has also sent me a beautiful image of a monstrous Coscinocera hercules larva. He also sent an image of an Antheraea paphia female and larva, posted.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mario Ioppolo has sent me images of instars 1-4 for Antheraea paphia as well as a beautiful sequence of shots of Gonimbrasia belina larvae. He has also sent me some interesting pupation observations as well as an image of the pupa. See file.
Also posted are second instar Cricula jordani
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
March 25, another A. polyphemus emerged indoors in New Hampshire (see last months newsletter), Larva was found in the fall in Hillsborough County and was stored indoors at room temp.
A black swallowtail emerged in Massachusetts, similar care.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Bernhard Wenczel has sent me beautiful images of Citheronia aroa, Citheronia guayaquila and Copaxa multifenestrata.
The Bernhard Wenczel/Victor Suter Collection wil be available shortly.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Steve Kohll has sent me images, posted, of a male Rothschildia paucidentata and male and females of Cricula agria. Both sepcies new to WLSS.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Orders for rearing sleeves have been coming in steadily form members and non-members. Don't wait too much longer if you will be needing sleeves this summer.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On April 5, 2004, I received the following email:
"I live in Columbia (Richland County), South
Carolina. Yesterday afternoon in my flower garden
I noticed an unusual caterpillar trying to climb up onto some branches
in a dwarf azalea bush. It was between 2 and 2.5 inches long, real
fat, all white (with the exception of a series of 5 to 6 dark
circular rings extending the length of its abdomen, and its black
legs and antennae).
"What really caught my eye were what appeared to be tiny yellow, lime
green wings near the back of its head. I chuckled and thought that
those little wings will never lift that chubby little fellow.
"About
45 minutes later I returned to the back garden only to find the
caterpillar holding on to one of the inner branches of the azalea,
his body was a lot smaller, but his wings were twice the size. I
watched him off and on over the next hour and
his wings just got huge. They were a solid bright green, black
outlined around the edges (especially the tops which I could see
best), had a single little black curlie-que design on each wing near
the very top, and the bottom portion of the wings were long and
almost appeared to be draping.
"As time went by, his body which had appeared to be shrinking, started
to get fatter again. Periodically, it would shift positions and
stretch its wings. What a sight.
"I wanted to be there when it flew off, but darkness came and
he hadn't budged. This morning he was gone, but I sure did enjoy
his visit. I really would like to know what type of moth or
butterfly it was.
"Please let me know if you can help me identify it. Thanks for your
help."
I wrote back explaining that the writer had witnessed a newly emerged luna moth and that all butterflies and moths go through a similar process. Lunas are emerging early in South Carolina this year.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
**********COLLECTOR'S CORNER:*********
Many thanks to Clive Pratt of the Insect Company which hosts our site. The Insect Company is a supplier of fine quality specimens to collectors, etc.
Clive is currently based in England and will probably begin offering livestock in the near future. Yeah!
Visit Clive's Site, The Insect Company, at
for an extensive selection of dried specimens.
*************************************
Please have a look at Members' Wish List every so often as you might be able to make someone's day!
*********SPECIAL REQUESTS*********
Save your empty cocoons for Carol Neeves. She works with the silk and would like all the empties you can send her. Carol has just set me a write up with pictures to show what she does with the silk (now posted in Members' Articles section).
Neeves, Carol, 1609 Ponderosa Drive, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57103
Janet Hightower is also looking for empty cocoons. She is doing a project on making rattles out of cocoons, and promises us some images and an article after she makes some noisemakers.
Janet Hightower, 1319 Ahlrich Avenue, Encinitas, California 92024 janet@scripps.edu
North American Saturniidae cd available to members only at $15.00 U.S. which includes postage. State by state listings, pooled images for each species. Saves you airtime if that is an issue. Please note, this IS NOT the cd of the World's Largest Saturniidae Site which I expect to have ready at $15.00 in August 2004.
Contract agreement is that copies of North American Saturniidae cd will not be distributed or copied for sale or redistribution by recipients.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Return to Main Menu
Return to "Mothly Newsletters"