Hi All,
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! This newsletter covers updates from December 16, 2007, to January 15, 2008.
*******************************
Livestock available in Canada is limited now to only Antheraea polyphemus. Everything else is sold out here in Canada.
For U.S. and overseas shipping, the following species are still
available from U.S. shipping location (New Hampshire) at membership
prices (adjusted up due to devalued U.S. dollar)
listed below:
Actias luna, Automeris io, Callosamia promethea at $4.25 U.S./cocoon;
Antheraea polyphemus at $4.50;
Hyalophora cecropia at $6.25;
Eacles imperialis imperialis at $8.00/pupa;
Citheronia regalis at $16.00/pair or $8.00/pupa for single males.
Butterflies:
Papilio glaucus (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail) and
Papilio troilus
(Spicebush Swallowtail) at $4.25.
Papilio asterius (Black Swallowtail)at $4.50.
Shipping and handling within U.S. is $8.00. It will be slightly higher for overseas shipping.
I am looking to purchase in bulk at wholesale prices healthy, good-sized, overwintering cocoons/pupae/chrysalids of any or all of the following: Callosamia promethea, Callosamia angulifera, additional Hyalophora cecropia, Eacles imperialis, or any other North American Saturniidae or butterfly pupae. They can be shipped to a U.S. destination. Check the newsletter pages regularly as I will provide notices of any new items in the newsletters.
*******************************
Please have a look at the fifteen finalists in the individual moth category of the 2007 WLSS Photography Contest. The images have been posted on the membership site at WLSS Photo Contest 2007. Please vote by sending me notice prior to January of your choice of best photo by indicating name of photographer and/orname of species.
All ballots cast will be entered into a random draw for a $25.00 livestock or supplies prize. You might win.
Images are also posted at WLSS Photo Contest 2007 if you do not want to login to the site to see them.
Thanks for taking the time to do this.
*******************************
I have just updated the New Taxa section
of over 175 new species/subspecies since 1985
(accessed from specialty area).
If anything seems to be missing,
please send me an email with details. I lack images for the following
new taxa:
Automerina carina Meister, Naumann, & Brechlin in Naumann, Brosch, & Wenczel, 2005
Dirphia carimaguensis Decaëns, Bonilla, & Naumann, 2005 (“2004”)
Hylesia hawksi Lemaire, Wolfe & Monzón S., 2001
Hyperchiria schmiti Meister & Knorke, 2004
Periga brechlini Naumann, Brosch, & Wenczel, 2005
Periphoba attali Lemaire & Terral, 1994
Periphoba aurata Lemaire, 1994
Periphoba courtini Lemaire, 1994
Periphoba diasi Lemaire, 1994
Actias australovietnama Brechlin, 2000
Antheraea (Antheraea) alorensis, U. Paukstadt & L.H. Paukstadt, 2005
Antheraea (Antheraea) cernyi Brechlin, 2002
Antheraea lorosae M. D. Lane, Naumann, & D. A. Lane, 2004
Antheraea (Antheraea) meisteri Brechlin, 2002
Antheraea (Antheraeopsis) rudloffi Brechlin, 2002
Cricula trifenestrata agrioides Nässig, 1989
Lemaireia hainana Nässig & Wang, 2006
Lemaireia naessigi Brechlin, 2001
Loepa palawana Nässig & Treadaway, 1997
Loepa sinjaevi Brechlin, 2004
Opodiphthera (Neodiphthera) decellei Lemaire & Nässig, 2002
Opodiphthera (Neodiphthera) roicki Brechlin, 2005
Opodiphthera tennenti Nässig & Lemaire, 2002
Opodiphthera (Syntherata) doboensis U. Paukstadt & L.H. Paukstadt, 2004
Opodiphthera (Syntherata) malukuensis U. Paukstadt & L.H. Paukstadt, 2005
Saturnia (Rinaca) microcaligula Nässig, 1994
Saturnia (Rinaca) nanlingensis Brechlin, 2004
Bunaeopsis murphyi Bouyer, 2007
Gonimbrasia (Nudaurelia) mariae Bouyer, 2007
Lobobunaea phaedusa desfontainei Darge, 1998
Epiphora newporti Bouyer, 2007
Micragone morettoi Darge, 2001
*******************************
Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde of Spain has just sent a beautiful image of a Graellsia isabelae galliaegloria bilateral gynandromorph. The image is posted in the Aberrations Section in the Specialty Area.
Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde adds, "My colleague Shen Horn Yen rears the rare species Actias neidhoeferi on Picea morrisonicola Hayata." No food plant had been previously listed on WLSS.
I seek any paper or publication which deals with the possible function (sexual selection, mimicry, predator warning) of hind wing tails in Saturniidae? I would greatly appreciate any information of published hypotheses focused on this issue. Any response will be forwarded to Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde.
*******************************
Frank Meister has just sent me images of female Automeris falco and Arsenura jennettae as well as images of newly described species Leucanella atahualpa and Leucanella yungasensis Frank Meister & Stefan Naumann 2006, and Pseudodirphia knorkei Frank Meister & Pierre Schmit 2004.
*******************************
Ismael and Marie Lumawig of Philippines have sent me fifth instar larva and foodplant image for Actias philippinica philippinica.
*******************************
I have updated Leroy Simon collection to reflect most of the new images sent on the latest DVD: Anisota oslari, Anisota virginiensis pellucida, Antheraea oculea, Antheraea yamamai, Attacus atlas, Caligula jonasii, Caligula simla, Callosamia promethea, Citheronia regalis, Eacles imperialis, Epiphora bauhiniae, Leucanella lynx, Pseudaphelia apollinaris, Rothschildia cincta guerreronis, Saturnia walterorum.
Leroy has also sent beautiful images of a cecropia x euryalus hybrid.
*******************************
Jean-Louis Albert of Franceville, Gabon, has sent very nice images of recto and verso spread Lobobunaea phaedusa male, Aurivillius aratus male, Pseudantheraea discrepans female, Bunaea alcinoe female, Imbrasia obscura female, linked from the respective species pages. Dates and wingspans also provided.
Jean-Louis has also sent images (recto and verso) of Goodia species female and of two males (recto and verso) of an Orthogonioptilum species. I will seek help on the ids of those specimens, and will try to translate more of Darge's descriptions of the Orthogonioptilum. For the Orthogonioptilum I am leaning toward fang, but the wingspans provided by Jean-Louis are larger than the range indicated by Darge.
*******************************
Steve Ife has sent beautiful images of a Dirphia panamensis fassli female from Misahualli, Napo Province, Ecuador.
*******************************
Paul Smith has sent images of Citheronia laocoon and Lonomia obliqua form San Rafael, Itapua, Paraguay, confirming both species from that department.
*******************************
Ryan St. Laurent has sent a beautiful image of a fifth instar Citheronia regalis from his rearings this past summer. Ryan has added images of the first and fourth instars.
*******************************
Mike Buczkowski has sent a report an image of a Ceranchia apollina pairing, early afternoon, November 25.
*******************************
Alan Marson is rearing what is believed to be Epiphora lugardi from Kenya.
He has sent images of third instar larvae, and I will ask him to provide hostplant. Hopefully Alan will have success with this species.
*******************************
Ulf Drechsel has sent an image of what I believe is the rarely seen Eudyaria zeta from Paraguay. Hopefully the specimen, found in a spider's web, can be examined for an id confirmation or correction.
*******************************
Teemu Klemetti has sent an image of the habitat of West Usambara Mts, Magamba forest, Tanzania. Teemu writes, "I found there for example: Gonimbrasia alcestris, Epiphora pelosoma, Pseudaphelia roseibrunnea, Micragone nyasae, Pseudobunaea tyrrhena and many others that are still under identification....". I will post the image to the files of those species listed above.
*******************************
Kelly Price continues to send a number of images of spread specimens for id work. Among them was an image of Cerodirphia radama consaepta from Arani, Cochabamba, Bolivia. This species was not previously depicted on WLSS. Kelly sent a number of images from this locale so I will probably soon start on a checklist for the Department of Cochabamba.
Kelly has also sent some images from Cameron Highland, Pahang, Malaysia, with wingspans: male and female Loepa megacore, male Loepa sikkima javanica, male and female Saturnia cameronensis and male Antheraea helferi borneensis.
Kelly also sent images of a Molippa simillima, a Leucanella contempta contempta female, and a Cerodirphia radama consaepta ?? male (might be C. b. brunnea) from Arani, Cochabamba, Bolivia, and a pair of Cerodirphia speciosa from Peru.
*******************************
Robert Vuattoux has sent a female hybrid from a cross between a Rothschildia hopfferi male and a Eupackardia calleta female.
Image has been posted in the hybrid section.
*******************************
Robert Lemaitre and team have sent images of male and female, cocoons and all instars of Actias luna male x Actias selene hybrid.
*******************************
Sphingidae Express
Nigel Venters has sent images of 3-5 instars of Hyles euphorbiarum, and a beautiful image of a female Hyles lineata from Cordoba, Argentina.
*******************************
Arctiidae Art
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Catocala Capers
I have recently updated the California species files with a number of new images from the All Leps Barcode of Life website. many of the California species had not previously been depicted on the Catocala website.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Caterpillars Too!, a North American butterfly website:
I will also be relocating this website as it was on the webspace previously provided by Clive Pratt.
I hope to have all members notified of that change by end of December. I have completed the move now and have earmarked December 21 for updating the access format and then notifying members of the change.
*******************************
A new Coleoptera (Beetles) page is being created.
This page will be resricted to those members of WLSS who have an interest in Coleoptera (Beetles) and who are willing to have their email addresses posted there for correspondence, limited to the Coleoptera family.
This list will not be available through any search engines and will not be linked by me from any of my websites. Instead, those members who register (no charge) will be directed to an unlisted URL.
Members whose names appear on this list have agreed to use the contact information solely for the purpose of furthering their interests in Coleoptera.
Members have also agreed that they will neither post this list/page nor divulge its contents nor share its contents with others.
To have your name and email contact information posted on the Coleoptera page, send email to Bill Oehlke, indicating you agree to terms above.
N.B. This is note a Coleoptera site, just a listing of contact info for WLSS members with an interest in Coleoptera.
There are also quite a few members interested in Sphingidae, so I will post special Sphingidae page under same conditions. I am also considering an African Sphingidae section if there is sufficient interest and those who can supply high quality images.
A Catocala page will also be posted.
If you wish to have your name, location, interests and email posted on the Coleoptera, Sphingidae or Catocala contacts page, please let me know.
*******************************
All Leps Barcode of Life
The All Leps Barcode of Life project is providing much data for
worldwide distributions of Saturniidae and Sphingidae species as well as
for species of other lepidopteran families. The project should also
greatly help with classification of specimens through DNA analysis.
*******************************
Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.