Rothschildia hesperus hesperus in copula, Apuya Ridge, Napo, Ecuador,
(female in foreground), October 22, 2014, courtesy of Martin L. Schwartz.
Hi All,
As of March 23 I am now sold out of all overwintering stock with final orders to be shipped March 30. Done!
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I am now taking orders for rearing sleeves. If you are thinking of doing any rearing outdoors, now would be the time to order sleeves before I get too busy with my own rearing.
Visit 2015 Egg Prices to see what is expected for spring and summer of 2015 in way of eggs, and also sizes and prices for sleeves. If any of you would like to become egg shipping partners for 2015, please send me an email, indicating what Saturniidae species you anticipate having and when. I am also looking for additional sources of overwintering Saturniidae cocoons and pupae as well as overwintering swallowtail pupae.
I hope you all have an enjoyable season. We are having our second blizzard of the week as I am typing this notice on March 18. Very much looking forward to spring!
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To assist us all with an idea of when eggs become available in any given year, the following information is being recorded:
Luna eggs shipped from North Carolina, April 1; from Alabama, April 2.
Cecropia eggs shipped from Alabama, April 4.
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I remain very busy with creation of an alternate WLSS site on a location that will not require a login or password. The site is still a private site and members are expected to keep access confidential.
I am also streamlining the opening page to make it more user friendly (easier to find things). The renaming and relinking of the thousands of files is taking longer than I anticipated, but I still hope to have the new location site fully operational by end of March 2015.
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Martin L. Schwartz sends this beautiful image of R. hesperus in copula.
Rothschildia hesperus hesperus in copula, Apuya Ridge, Napo, Ecuador,
(female in foreground), October 22, 2014, courtesy of Martin L. Schwartz.
Just a day or two before receiving Martin's image above (April 3, 2015), Bev Powers reminded me of a story she had sent me in August of 2014 from upstate New York:
"I HAVE A FEW MINUTES NOW TO TELL YOU ABOUT MY SPECIAL PRIZE I GOT AT THE FAIR IN AUGUST. WISH I COULD SHOW YOU A PICTURE OF THE AREA. IT WAS IN THE PARK LIKE
SECTION WITH A LOT OF HUGE OLD TREES AND BENCHES FOR SITTING FOR THE LITTLE BAND CONCERTS AND THINGS. WE WERE THERE FOR AWHILE LISTENING TO A BAND AND THEN
DECIDED TO GO DO SOMETHING ELSE.
"JUST WALKING THROUGH TO LEAVE, I HAPPENED TO LOOK DOWN AT THE GROUND, AND THERE WAS A FULL GROWN BLUSHED LUNA CATERPILLAR!
RIGHT AT MY FEET. OMGOSH !!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO VULNERABLE !!!!!!! TO BEING STEPPED ON BY ONE OF A THOUSAND PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH THERE ALL DAY AND NIGHT.
I REALLY AM AMAZED THAT I EVEN SPOTTED IT THERE. I COULD HAVE BEEN LOOKING ANYWHERE ELSE, TO MY LEFT, TO MY RIGHT, STRAIGHT AHEAD, UP. WOW!
WHAT A LUCKY LUNA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"I PICKED IT UP AND PUT IT INSIDE A LITTLE CANDY BOX I HAD IN MY BAG I ALWAYS TAKE TO THE FAIR. THE BOX WAS ONE OF THOSE LITTLE CHOCOLATE BOXES THAT
HAS FOUR PIECES INSIDE (I HAD ALREADY EATEN THE CHOCOLATE EARLIER). ROBERT USED HIS LITTLE POCKET KNIFE TO PUNCH SOME HOLES IN IT. I PUT A HICKORY LEAF IN
WITH THE CATERPILLAR, THEN KEPT CHECKING ON HIM, GIVING HIM EXTRA AIR.
"WHEN WE GOT HOME, I GAVE HIM MORE HICKORY LEAVES AND HE OR SHE STARTED SPINNING AND MADE A COCOON BEFORE I WENT TO BED : )
TREES THERE WERE HICKORY TREES.
"WHAT A GREAT PRIZE FOR ME !!!!!!!!!! I MADE SURE TO LABEL IT, AND THEN PUT IT WITH THE OTHER COCOONS . MY LUCKY LUNA !!!!!!!!!!!!
I THINK, WHAT A LITTLE MIRACLE THAT I JUST HAPPENED TO BE LOOKING DOWN AT THAT VERY SECOND AND FINDING HIM LAYING THERE ON THE DIRT.
I COULD HAVE STEPPED ON HIM MYSELF !!!!!!!!!!!!!! SCREAM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I imagine Martin must have been equally astonished and amazed when he encountered the hesperus pair in copula in Ecuador, thousands of miles away from Martin's home.
Please send along other interesting stories of chance encounters with these beautiful moths and their larvae.
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For the first time on WLSS a live Hylesia mortifex male is displayed. Steve Nanz has provided several new additions for Trinidad and some first for WLSS.
Hylesia mortifex male, ASA Wright Nature Centre, Arima, St. George, Trinidad,
March 23, 2015, approx.400m, courtesy of Steve Nanz.
Hylesia mortifex male, ASA Wright Nature Centre, Arima, St. George, Trinidad,
March 23, 2015, approx. 400m, courtesy of Steve Nanz.
Hylesia ascodex male, ASA Wright Nature Centre, Arima, St. George, Trinidad,
March 24, 2015, approx. 400m, courtesy of Steve Nanz.
Hylesia ascodex male, ASA Wright Nature Centre, Arima, St. George, Trinidad,
March 24, 2015, approx. 400m, courtesy of Steve Nanz.
Hylesia murex male, ASA Wright Nature Centre, Arima, St. George, Trinidad,
March 24, 2015, approx.400m, courtesy of Steve Nanz.
Pseudodirphia eumedide male, ASA Wright Nature Centre, Arima, St. George, Trinidad,
March 24, 2015, courtesy of Steve Nanz.
Pseudodirphia eumedide male, ASA Wright Nature Centre, Arima, St. George, Trinidad,
March 24, 2015, courtesy of Steve Nanz.
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Bill Garthe sends the following image with dealer-marked location as Argentina: probably Misiones. I suspect this species also flies in Misiones, Argentina.
Automeris beckeri male, 98mm, Argentina,
February 2009, courtesy of Bill Garthe.
Many thanks to John Christensen who has sent me a series of images of what I have tentativley identified as Gamelia vanschaycki. If the id is correct, it is the first time a live G. vanschaycki is depicted on WLSS.
Gamelia vanschaycki male, Shima, Junin, Peru,
mid May, 2014, 450m, courtesy of John Christensen, id by Bill Oehlke.
Many thanks to Patrick Basquin for his continued submissions of Maltagorea species images. All of the known Maltagorea, as of December 2014, have a representative image displayed on WLSS. I have also made an identification chart for the M. rostaingi group, available via a link on the rostaingi file.
Recently Patrick has provided images of altivola, ambahona, mariae, pseudomariae, rostaingi.
I also have some recent images from Patrick of M. griveaudi, showing its great variability. I hope to get those images posted very soon.
Maltagorea griveaudi male, Lakato Forest, Madagascar,
courtesy of Patrick Basquin.
Maltagorea griveaudi male, Lakato Forest, Madagascar,
courtesy of Patrick Basquin.
Maltagorea griveaudi female, Anjozorobe Forest, Madagascar,
courtesy of Patrick Basquin.
Maltagorea griveaudi female, Anjozorobe Forest, Madagascar,
courtesy of Patrick Basquin.
For the first time on WLSS a live Caio romulus is displayed, courtesy of Jean Haxaire.
I have been going back through the thousands of cd digital images sent to me by Eric van Schayck in 2006. I have placed many of the images on the Antheraea pages for the Philippines and for the Lesser Sunda Islands, and I am in the process of creating Antheraea Comparison Plates for the Philippines and for the Lesser Sunda Islands. I also hope to make similar plates for Sulawesi and Sumatra, and for Nepal and Bhutan, as Eric sent many images from those locations, and there have been many new descriptions put forward since then.
I hope the plates, which will be as up to date as possible, will simplify id work, but in some cases DNA analysis will probably be necessary to confirm ids.
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Sphingidae Express
Many thanks to Jeanne Marker who provides this "early bird" surprise.
Pachysphinx occidentalis, south of Tucson, Pima County, Arizona,
March 19, 2015, courtesy of Jeanne Marker.
Many thanks to Vadim Kroutov who continues to supply images and updates to the Sphingidae of the Americas website.
Xylophanes obscurus female, 88mm, Iquitos, Loreto, Peru,
courtesy of Vadim Kroutov.
Vadim has also sent images, recto and verso, of a female Eumorpha obliquus orientalis from Sao Bento do Sul, Brazil. This is the first time this subspecies is depicted on Sphingidae of the Americas website.
Steve Nanz has confirmed Neococytius cluentius from Trinidad, and has also reported, for the first time, Xylophanes loelia from Tobago and Unzela japix japix from Trinidad. See the files for additional images.
Smerinthus ophthalmica male, Chico, Butte County, California,
March 20, 2015, courtesy of Adam Heichelbech, id by Bill Oehlke.
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Catocala Capers
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Please note: I reside in Canada at the following address and payment for Saturniidae livestock (eggs, cocoons, pupae) and/or sleeves must be sent to me only at this address:
Bill Oehlke
Box 476
155 Peardon Road
Montague, Prince Edward Island, C0A 1R0
Canada
Postage from USA to Canada is $1.15 (2015 rate) so please use that amount on your envelope with your payment.
If you are in US and order cocoons or pupae from me this fall or winter, you will probably see a New Jersey return address on the shipping box. Do not send payment to the New Jersey address; send it to name and address above please.
This website has been created and is maintained by Bill Oehlke without government or institutional financial assistance. All expenses, ie., text reference support material, webspace rental from Bizland and 1&1, computer repairs/replacements, backups systems, software for image adjustments (Adobe Photoshop; L-View), ftp software, anti-virus protection, scanner, etc. are my own. The one-time-life-time membership fee that is charged at the time of the registration covers most of those expenses.
I very much appreciate all the many images that have been sent to me, or of which I have been granted permission to copy and post from other websites. All images on this site remain the property of respective photographers.
If you would like to contribute to the maintenace of this website by sending a contribution to
Bill Oehlke
Box 476
155 Peardon Road
Montague, Prince Edward Island, C0A1R0
Canada
your donation would be much appreciated and would be used for
1) paying for webspace rental;
2) paying for computer maintenance and software upgrades;
3) purchases of additional text reference material (journals and books) in an effort to stay current with new species;
4) helping to pay my daughter's tuition (She has now completed her B.A. (two years ago) and B. Ed. (spring 2013) and is certified to teach)
and has been working full time as of September with contract until end of first semester in January.
I also hope to expand the North American Catocala site as well as the Sphingidae of the Americas site, to worldwide sites, and that will require additional funds for reference materials, etc. Both of those site are linked from your WLSS homepage.
If you are mailing a check from USA, please use $1.15 postage (2015 rate). Donations can also be made through Paypal via the button below.
Donations are not required to maintain your standing as a WLSS member, nor do they gain you any preferencial treatment with regard to livestock and/or supplies (sleeves), compared to other WLSS members. All WLSS members get first crack at my annual offerings and get an approximate discount of 10% as compared to non-members.
I do usually ask donors if they have any special requests for information on WLSS, and I try to accomodate when appropriate or within my ability to do so.