Hi All,
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, happy new year to all.
Very early in the new year I will be changing the cover image for WLSS to an image submitted in 2013, and I will be naming the contributor of the year 2013.
Many thanks to all who contributed data, images, information.
I will very shortly be selecting the 2013 Larval Image of 2013, and should have it posted before January 15. I stil have quite a few images that I have to process.
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Rothschildia lebeau forbesi cocoons have been harvested in Texas in good numbers and have been shipped to those who have requested them. There should be lots to go around, based on preliminary reports, and overwintering Eupackardia calleta cocoons are also expected in good numbers. In Texas there are usually two broods of calleta, but Jeff has found that some of his first brood calleta cocoons are going to overwinter with the second brood cocoons. Rothschildia lebeau forbesi cocoons are also now available from Texas.
For those of you who have received forbesi cocoons, please note these are from southern Texas where temperatures seldom get below freezing, and, when temperatures do dip below freezing, it is only a slight dip for a short period of time. They should not be stored outdoors for prolonged periods of cold or even short periods of subfreezing temperatures.
If you have a cool spot in your basement, that is where I would keep the overwintering forbesi, fridge crisper would be second choice for forbesi. The same applies to pupae of Citheronia splendens sinaloensis.
I still have some ios (small number) for Canadian distribution.
My other US shipping partner in Maine still has luna, polyphemus, io, promethea (very low number of promethea) and Pterourus glaucus (eastern tiger swallowtail) cocoons and pupae, all at $5.00 each. There will be one free item of your choice for any combination of ten items purchased. I do not expect these to last beyond the end of January.
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The Urota Comparison plate provides a series of images in close proximity with some notes to hopefully help me and others with determinations. I do not have images of all species available for public display, but perhaps the locations and descriptions will help other viewers.
Almost all of the specimens with new designations existed in collections under the label of Urota sinope, and they are quite similar in appearance to sinope. I am not sure if Urota sinope is limited to southern Africa, being replaced by similar species in more northern locales, or if sinope flies in most of Africa, possibly even existing in the same habitats with the cryptic species. Perhaps some of the look-alikes will be synonymized, either with each other or with sinope.
Additional submissions of digital images with as much data as possible should help to improve the accuracy of this website. Verso images may also prove to be very helpful with determinations. All submissions are greatly appreciated, and all photos remain the property of respective photographers.
It is my intention to create similar plates, even at country levels when there are a great number of similar species in the same country. The searches for images and organization of information and images is time consuming. I will also be purchasing the journal publications where the "new species" are described, but I do not have permission to use the images in the journals. I am hoping that many of the images of "newly described species" will come from the collections of members who have them labelled under scientific names that existed before the onset of DNA barcoding. Most of the new names put forward have come from the examination of specimens already in collections, and are not so much from the collection of new material.
There are a few explorers, however, who travel to uncharted territory in search of new discoveries.
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For the first time on WLSS a live female of Automeris innoxia is displayed, courtesy of Viktor Suter. Foodplant is also new.
Automeris innoxia, female, reared on Fagus silvatica,
Villa Rica, Pasco, Peru,
600m, courtesy of Viktor Suter.
Copaxa lavendero hidalgensis female, reared on Quercus turneri,
Sinaloa, Mexico, courtesy of Viktor Suter.
Copaxa lavendero hidalgensis final instar, reared on Quercus turneri,
Sinaloa, Mexico, courtesy of Viktor Suter.
I have been extremely busy with updates to the site, based on Entomo-Satsphingia publications. Many of the "new" species are very similar to "known, well established" species, and have been "uncovered" via DNA barcoding analysis from specimens submitted from some very vast collections.
Not all the images in the comparison plates are available for posting, but here are some examples of what I have been working on the last month or so. There is a good chance that many of you have the recently described "new" species in your collections under previously existing names. If so, please send the images to me with data, and I will update the site. Locations and the brief notes I have neterred should be helpful in making determinations.
The following chart shows five similar species as well as a potentially unnamed species, all from Mexico. I do not have permission to post images of some species so they will exist as blanks on the chart, but hopefully the brief notes will aid with determinations. As I receive images appropriate for display, I will add them to the chart.
The potentially unnamed species is listed as maeonia? because the forewing pm line is significantly more preappical than the maeonia depicted in the Entomo-Satsphingia journal.
In many cases there are additional images, even larval images, as well as information in the linked species files.
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These moths do not have ringed abdomens.
The list continues to grow with many very similar species so I have further subdivide the hamata group with the following plate depicting species whose males have the forewing apex quite produced.
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Ryan Saint Laurent again sends several firsts for the WLSS, all from the Cornell University Collection.
Ptiloscola lilacina male, holotype,
Cornell University Collection, courtesy of Ryan Saint Laurent.
Adeloneivaia catoxantha lacrimata male (first time hindwings displayed),
Cornell University Collection, courtesy of Ryan Saint Laurent.
Syssphinx quadrilineata occlusa male,
Cornell University Collection, courtesy of Ryan Saint Laurent.
Robin Chittenden, via Daniel Marlos of What's That Bug? provides the following image of a Dirphia tarquinia male from Brasso Saco, St. George, Trinidad.
Dirphia tarquinia male, Brasso Saco, St. George, Trinidad,
April 24, 2013, courtesy of Robin Chittenden, via Daniel Marlos.
Rothschildia vanschaycki male, Trinidad,
April, 2013, courtesy of Robin Chittenden, id by Bill Oehlke.
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
I have made a correction to the Sphinx phalerata file, based on communication from both Nigel Venters and Ezequiel Bustos, moving one of the images from that page to the S. maura file. I have also put ?? for the occurrence of S. aurigutta in Argentina, based on communication from Ezequiel Bustos.
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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 $1.10 (2013 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. (this spring) and is certified to teach).
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 $1.10 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 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 material on WLSS, and I try to accomodate when appropriate or within my ability to do so.
