Hi All,
Happy Valentine's Day!
I have recently posted beautiful image of female hybrid of Graellsia isabellae galiaegloria x Actias gnoma by hybridization team, courtesy of Dominique Ades.
Dominique writes, "Female pupae were stored three months at 8-10°C and then at room temperature on October 22th 2006. As nothing occurred till December 23rd, they were then Beta-ecdysone treated and almost all had birth within four days between January 8th and 12th."
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Website move: Early in 2004 my oldest son alerted me to a three year free webspace trial offer from 1&1 Internet Inc. The WLSS has been on space provided by 1&1 Internet Inc since then, with a backup site via space provided by Clive Pratt of the Insect Company.
I dismantled some of the main files on Clive's webspace when I found there were several leaks providing access to non-members. I have been maintaining/updating files on both 1&1 Internet Inc and Clive's webspace (without main files).
On January 26, I received an email from 1&1 Internet Inc, informing me that the free service offer was expiring January 31. To maintain the service/site at current location I would have to begin paying either a monthly fee or make an annual payment.
The email from 1&1 Internet Inc caught me a little off guard as I thought, probably in error, that I had til end of March to make the decision.
I have been very pleased with 1&1 Internet Inc and they offer a very reasonable rate for website hosting, even better than the rate I am paying to Bizland for the space I rent from them for the Catocala and Sphingidae sites. I may return to 1&1 Internet Inc when Bizland renewal comes up. Bizland, has also been good to me.
However, several leaks were also reported to me regarding the 1&1 Internet Inc webspace files. Some leaks were probably my fault as I was not careful enough to include "No Index", "No Follow" and "No Archive" commands in meta tags for files further down the chain of links. These "lower/lesser" files were linked back to the major files and could provide access to the main page and the entire site. Rather than try to patch all the leaks, I decided to move the site. There are and will not be, in the new pages being posted, any direct links back to the main homepage and genera pages. It will be a simple matter, however, for members to access one of the main pages directly and then use the browser "back" button to return to one of the main pages after visiting a more specialized (species, articles, etc. file).
I also became aware that there were leaks, not due to my own errors and internet crawler postings, but due to members either posting access on their own websites (two cases reported and corrected with sincere apologies) and some with members sharing access info with friends even though all members have indicated to me they would not do so.
I have been extremely busy the last few days, removing/changing files on the "old" 1 & 1 site in case they do become public domain, once the site becomes inactive, and in making sure files with new names get posted and provide no links back to main files. I am also being careful to make sure meta tags prevent web crawlers from posting/archiving the files.
At any rate, please be aware that the new home page address that I am sending each member has been individualized so I can trace and quickly correct a leak and deal appropriately with the source of the leak. It is very important that you do not give out your personal access file to any one else, even to another person whom you know to be a member. If a known member has lost or forgotten his/her access page, he/she should contact me directly, and you should politely advise them to do so.
Each new main access page also has a paragraph identifying the site as a private site with a request that non-members who have accessed the site, contact me so I can fix leaks.
Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. I will also be doing a site backup on other webspace being provided to me by Steve Huffman, but it still remains to be seen if Steve's site can handle a large volume of traffic with regard to bandwidth available to him. The WLSS is so image rich that considerable (relative) bandwidth is used when pages with many images are visited.
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Changes in email address and spam blockages: Please advise me of any changes to your email address. Many members have been doing this faithfully, and it is much appreciated. I update the membership files and use them when I send out "Mothly Newsletters" and specialty notices.
Many members have internet email providers with spam blockers. I do not know what triggers the blockers, whether it is inclusion of a URL or other link in the body of text or a sudden detected surge in email from a certain source (I have been sending over 500 Mothly newswletters once a month for many months). This sudden surge may prompt robots to block what they register as "spam". In other cases, you at the destination end, may have to manually allow email from my email address if you have restrictive blockers.
I guess one of the advantages of moving the site is it lets me know who is currently active (visiting the site) and who is receiving email from me. I will continue to maintain and update the "old membership list", but I will only be sending out emails to the "active membership list". You become active when you reaffirm your commitment to maintain confidentiality of access and provide in text (so I can copy and paste) your full name and address and email address and statement of confidentiality.
Now to more fun stuff!
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Bernhard Wenczel has sent a very nice image of a rarely seen live Rothschildia zacateca male from his rearings. I think this is the first male successfully reared from Peru. Kirby Wolfe has had success with stock from Colombia.
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Shin-ichi Ohshima is from Japan and offers overwintering and spring flight eggs of various Saturniidae species:
overwintering eggs
Caligula japonica 30 eggs for 13USD
Caligula jaonasii 30 egss for 26USD
Rhodinia fugax 30 eggs for 32USD
Antheraea yamamai 30 eggs for 13USD
spring flight eggs
Actias gnoma gnoma in late spring
Actias artemis aliena in late spring
Shin-ichi can be reached at 6r82f3@bma.biglobe.ne.jp
Always confirm availability by email before ordering.
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Steve Kohll has sent a beautiful specimen of a bilateral gynandromorph of Automeris midea from his rearings.
The viewer's right half of this moth is female, with a single female antenna and female wing structures and patterning. The right half of the body may even contain female genitalic structures and possibly even a complement of eggs and pheromones. The left side is male with a single male antenna and male wing structures and patterning. There may be male genitalic structures inside the body.
The image is on display on the Automeris midea page, and there is a link to this gynandromorph in the Aberrations section.
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Minetti Robert has sent collecting data for
Parusta thelxinoe, from Savanna near W. Usambara Mts., 475m;
Tanzania, the 16.10.04.
Parusta xanthops, from Ruaha National parc, Iringa Region,
912m, Tanzania the 06.12.06
Eosia insignis, from W. Udzungwa National parc,
Iringa Region, 560m; Tanzania, the 10.12.06
Antistathmoptera rectangulata from Mikumi National Parc,
Morogoro Region, 461m; Tanzania, on the 15.11.06
I think the Antistathmoptera are the recently described subspecies Antistathmoptera daltonae grantae, Bouyer, 2006, based on geography (sorry no images available). Minetti Robert is offering these very hard to get specimens for sale. His contact information can be found through the link on the Parusta and Eosia pages.
If you purchase the specimens from Minetti Robert, please send me electronic images for display on WLSS.
I have also placed the collecting locales on the Tanzania map.
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I have also just posted a small image of a male and female Parusta thelxinoe, courtesy of Andreas Riekert, on the thelxinoe page. Andreas is also offering specimens for sale. His contact information can be found through the link on the Parusta thelxinoe page.
Andreas has the males listed as 1A males 30,- Euro/each
and the females listed as 1A females 50,- Euro/each
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Martin Jagelka has just sent a beautiful image of a male Saturnia (Rinaca) thibeta arctica from China. This moth is often called Caligula thibeta arctica.
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Robert Lemaitre has sent beutiful images of a new hybrid and writes,
"Herewith the station of the hybrid Attacus caesar male X Attacus altas female, manual coupling succeeds by my friend Herve Guyot and I had the load of distributed 300 eggs with all my corresponding friends and stockbreeders (Robert Beck, Patrick Guivarch, Reinhold Höge, Steve Kohll, Oliver Kurz, Michel Lamour, Eric Legrand, Alan Marson, Jean-Pierre Pagnon, Angélo Santin, Jean-Claude Tavernier, Robert Zaun). The breeding of this hybrid with posed much problem at all the stages of the caterpillar and the final result at summer only one score of cocoons of which in majority of the males (currently there remains to me a female for emergence); The opposite hybrid at summer also carried out and succeeded the same day by Herve and also by Patrick Guivarch and of should reach you soon."
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There are two new articles in the Member's Articles Section: Cocoon Fluoresence by Dominique Ades and A New US Record for a tropical fruit-piercing moth by Vernon Antoine Brou, Jr.
I very much appreciate members' contributions in this area. Articles do not have to be highly technical. Please feel free to share your observations, experiences, insights and even questions. I will edit all articles for spelling and grammar before posting, so do not be concerned if you have dificulties in either of those areas.
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Check out the The Emperor Moths (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) of Papua Indonesia by Stefan Naumann.
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Sphingidae Express
Michael F. O'Brien from the Big Island of Hawaii has recently sent a sighting of Agrius cingulata and images of Deilephila nerii adults and a Psilogramma menephron larva.
Hubert mayer has recently sent images of Adhemarius dariensis from Oaxaca, Mexico, and Xylophanes macasensis (not previously depicted on site) from near Tena, Napo Province, Ecuador.
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Catocala Capers
If any of you are interested in having your names, addresses and emails posted to a webpage of people interested in rearing/selling/trading worldwide Catocala species (eggs, pupae, adult specimens), I will host such a private page and only provide access to those whose names/addresses/emails are on it.
In return, I ask that you send electronic images for display on the internet. If you don't take pictures, that's okay!
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Arctiidae Art
If any of you have keen interest in this family and are willing to create the files (you do the layout in html format) for a website on the Arctiidae, I will arrange for webspace to post and will post the images and text that are provided. You get the credit for the site. All images should be credited to the respective photographers.
I will not have time to create the html files, but if you send them to me I will upload them, and then provide the access URL.
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Caterpillars Too!, a North American butterfly website. This is also a private membership site, distinct from WLSS. Many WLSS members have also registered for this site.
I am currently working on Idaho and Quebec.
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