Neodiphthera habemana male,
Kumul Lodge, Highlands Highway east of Mt. Hagen (town), Central Highlands, Papua New Guinea,
June-July 10, 2012, courtesy of Shirley Sekarajasingham
Hi All,
Merry Christmas; Happy New Year!
My wife and I and two daughters will be spending Christmas with my oldest son and his family in Nova Scotia, December 23-26. We will be thinking of Ryan in Fort MacMurray, Alberta.
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On January 1, 2013, I hope to have the 2012 photos of the year, adult moth and larvae, posted. Many thanks for the difficult decision you have given me. There are many exceptional photos from which to choose.
WLSS: 2012: First Place, Adult moth
Neodiphthera habemana male,
Kumul Lodge, Highlands Highway east of Mt. Hagen (town), Central Highlands, Papua New Guinea,
June-July 10, 2012, courtesy of Shirley Sekarajasingham
WLSS: 2012: First Place, Larva
Lobobunaea christyi molleti fifth instar on Liquidambar, Ethiopia, courtesy of Alan Marson.
WLSS: 2012: First Place, Hybrid
Female hybrid from Graellsia isabellae male x Actias sjoeqvisti female, photo of Steve Kohll, via Robert Lemaitre.
Contributor of the Year:
Many people make many submissions. I am very grateful. I have to mention that I have found, this year, and posted images of many of the new Saturniidae designations from the over 1000 digital images that Eric Van Schayck sent me on four CDs many years ago. This is an outstanding contribution toward coverage of new designations.
As I have been doing the updates and moving files, I am pleased to observe that I had posted many of Eric's images to files of a "best match", but noted differences. In quite a few instances those differences are reflected in the new determinations by Brechlin and Meister, and images have been moved to respective "new" files. I acquired most of Brechlin & Meister's 2010-2011 Entomo-Satsphingia journals in early 2012, and have spent many hours creating new files and moving images. Most recently I have been working on the Pseudodirphia.
Many thanks to all those who made donations in 2012 toward the purchase of those journals.
Alan Marson continues to send me many images from his rearings, and I am especially grateful for the efforts he is making with African Saturniidae.
Bernhard Wenczel has sent me some outstanding images of Saturniidae adults and larvae that Viktor Suter has photographed. There are many more names that could be mentioned. I still have some additional "stacked" photos from Rod Millar that have to be posted.
The 2012 Contributor of the Year Award, however, goes to Larry Valentine, who consistently sends me images from his own photo gatherings in southeastern Minas Gerais, Brazil. As I began working (literally typing up this message) on this year's award selections, I received another set of images from Larry. Among them is this image of Adelowalkeria flavosignata larvae.
Adelowalkeria flavosignata fifth instars, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
January 3, 2013, courtesy of Larry Valentine.
May your lives be free of the many tragedies that have recently beset the people of the United States. My prayers have been with and for the many people who lost family members in the recent shootings in Conecticut.
Half of all new WLSS membership registration fees received from November 20, 2012, to March 20, 2013, will go out as a donation to Humanitarian Aid to assist the Hurricane Sandy recovery in New Jersey and New York.
If you know of someone who would like a gift membership, the WLSS gift membership, from you to the person of your choice, is $25.00. Christmas is coming. Half of all gift memberships will also be donated to Humanitarian Aid.
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Lars Andersen has recently sent many images from Yungas, Bolivia, with some new sightings for the area!
Automeris falco male, Coroico, La Paz, Bolivia,
January 19, 2006, 1800m, courtesy of Lars Andersen.
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Ben Trott, who has sent me many outstanding images of Sphinigidae, sends this beautiful image of Antheraea polyphemus feeding on Populus grandidenta in British Columbia, Canada.
Antheraea polyphemus fifth instar on Populus grandidenta,
British Columbia, Canada, courtesy of Ben Trott.
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Alain van Vaive, also known as the Bug Maniac, from Belgium, has a new email address: info@thebugmaniac.com
Martin Jagelka at martin.jagelka@googlemail.com offers dried specimens from many insect families. Contact Martin directly to get on his mailing list.
Visit the "Dried Specimens" section in the Specialty Area for other reliable sources of specimens.
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For first time on WLSS a live male Antheraea schroederi is depicted.
Antheraea schroederi male, Guintubdan, Negros Occidental, Philippines,
August 16, 2011, courtesy of Lary E. Reeves.
For the first time on WLSS a live specimen of Cerodirphia apunctata is displayed:
Cerodirphia apunctata male, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
December 17, 2012, courtesy of Larry Valentine.
Cerodirphia apunctata male, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
December 17, 2012, courtesy of Larry Valentine.
The following image is not what I would call a great shot, but it is the first time I have seen the undersides of Loxolomia serpentina.
For the first time on WLSS live male and female Copiopteryx semiramis steindachneri are depicted.
Copiopteryx semiramis steindachneri male, Taipiplaya, LaPaz, Bolivia,
January 2007, 810m, courtesy of Lars Andersen, id by Bill Oehlke.
Copiopteryx semiramis steindachneri female, Taipiplaya, Yungas, La Paz, Bolivia,
February 18, 2006, photo by Peter Møllmann, via Lars Andersen, id by Bill Oehlke.
Automeris latenigra?? male, Taipiplaya, La Paz, Bolivia,
January 2007, 810m, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.
If it is Automeris latenigra, it is first time a live specimen is depicted on WLSS.
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Thomas Jantscher has sent some very nice images (Saturniidae and Sphingidae) with data from various Iowa counties. This image confirms an early spring flight in April, followed by a second June-July flight.
Actias luna, Brinton Timber, Washington County, Iowa,
April 1, 2012, courtesy of Thomas Jantscher.
Antheraea polyphemus female, Cedar Bluffs Recreation Area, Muscatine County, Iowa,
June 2, 2011, courtesy of Thomas Jantscher.
I have received many beautiful Saturniidae and Sphingidae images and hope to have time to work on them over the next several weeks, and then will also work on the extensive photos that Leroy Simon sent me on his new DVDs. They are available from Leroy at $12.00 each, I believe. Contact Leroy Simon directly for ordering information.
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Alan Marson sends images of pupae of African species. Congratulations to Alan on his many rearing successes. Very nice to have these pupal images:
Cirina forda pupae, reared on sweetgum, Zambia,
courtesy of Alan Marson.
Lobobunaea christyi molleti pupae, reared on Liquidambar, Ethiopia, courtesy of Alan Marson.
Nudaurelia krucki pupae, Kenya, courtesy of Alan Marson.
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I have been updating the Adeloneivaia files based on the 2011 Entomo-Satsphingia Journal, and have found some additional useful images on the CD's Eric van Schayck sent me many years ago, and have moved many of the images from the jason file to more appropriate locations.
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Kirby Wolfe writes, "Our Giant Silkmoths book is finally being delivered from Amazon.com in the U.S. In Europe it has been selling very well and is being translated into German. It is now no.2 of Insect & Spider books for Amazon Canada, and it hasn't even been released there yet. Here's the URL for the U.S.: http://www.amazon.com/The-Giant-Silkmoths-Mimicry-Camouflage/dp/1906506256/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332781819&sr=1-1
"I imagine many of your members would be interested in this book, which is large coffee table format with over 100 color photos of live saturniids, and is very reasonably priced. The reviews in Great Britain, where it has been available since early November, have been filled with superlatives."
I (Bill Oehlke) have read some commentary on the new book, and it has all been very good. Check it out!.
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Sphingidae Express
For the first time on Sphingidae of the Americas website a live Erinnyis lassauxii adult is depicted. I think this is also the first time the moth has been reported in Tarrant County, Texas.
Erinnyis lassauxii, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas,
December 19, 2012, courtesy of Kevin McCollum.
Ben Trott sends many beautiful images from Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico. He recently sent complete life history photos of Aellopos clavipes, noting this species can have as many as seven instars, and complete life history photos of the seldom seen Cautethia yucatana, including an image of a male in flight. Additional images are on files on Sphingidae of the Americas website.
Cautethia yucatana prepupal fifth instar, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
courtesy of Ben Trott.
Cautethia yucatana male pupa, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
courtesy of Ben Trott.
Catocala Capers
Larry Gall of Connecticut writes,
"Hi Bill,
"In the spring of 2013 I'm again rearing several dozen species of Catocala for research purposes, and I have some surplus eggs that I'd be happy to offer free to
those using your site (first come, first served). I can offer varying small quantities of eggs of amatrix, angusi, briseis, innubens, lacrymosa, neogama,
piatrix, robinsonii, and vidua at this time. If any of your subscribers/readers has eggs that they would like to exchange, I would also very much welcome that.
Best wishes, Larry"
You can contact Larry via email at Lawrence F. Gall, Ph.D.
Head, Computer Systems Office
Informatics Manager, Entomology
Executive Editor, Peabody Publications
Lepidoptera Section Editor, Zootaxa
Peabody Museum of Natural History
P.O. Box 208118, Yale University
New Haven, CT 06520-8118 USA
http://www.peabody.yale.edu
Many thanks to Jeff Trahan who provides images and data for many species, including this beautiful shot of Catocala ilia.
Catocala ilia form conspicua, Eddie Jones Park, Caddo Parish, Louisiana,
May 9, 2012, courtesy of Jeff Trahan.
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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 $0.85 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, 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.
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 $0.85 postage. 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 othe rWLSS 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 material on WLSS, and I try to accomodate when appropriate or within my ability to do so.