Hi All,
This newsletter covers updates from February 15, to March 15, 2008.
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It is quite difficult (time consuming) to do individual monthly mailouts of the "Mothly Newsletter" as membership is now over 600 worldwide. Mailouts will be reduced to at most once a quarter (once every three months).
If you are interested in purchasing eggs or taking advantage of special offers (seldom offered species, papered specimens, etc.) as they arise, please consult the "Mothly Newsletters" which are updated at least once a week and are archived on site. I will have a special link to Eggs 2008 so you can see what is anticipated with prices. Some eggs will probably be ready for shipping from Alabama starting the latter half of March.
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Livestock is sold out here in Canada.
For U.S. and overseas shipping, the following species are still
available from U.S. shipping locations (New Hampshire and/or Alabama)
at membership prices (adjusted up due to devalued U.S. dollar)
listed below as of March 6:
Actias luna at $4.25 U.S./cocoon;
Callosamia promethea at $3.75 U.S./cocoon;
Antheraea polyphemus at $4.50 U.S./cocoon;
Hyalophora cecropia at $6.25 U.S./cocoon.
Shipping and handling within U.S. is $8.00. It will be slightly higher for overseas shipping.
I am now accepting Paypal, but please add 4% (minimum of $1.50) to total as I still get "dinged" by banks and Paypal when they do currency conversions. I do not have that problem with U.S. checks which I deposit into my U.S. account. I use that U.S. money to purchase stocks in U.S., pay my U.S. shipping partners, or hold it in my U.S. account until conversion factors are more favourable.
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Carlos Mielke has sent very nice images of spread male and female Dirphiopsis delta, Dirphiopsis lombardi and Dirphiopsis brockmanni. D. brockmanni is a newly described species, and D. lombardi has been "resurrected from synonymy with D. delta.
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Jacolene Meyer has sent beautiful image of a live Bunaeopsis arabella male from South Africa. Image posted to arabella file.
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Victor Sinyaev has sent me beautiful images of Calliprogonos miraculosa, one of the beautiful Brahmaeidae from central China. Victor often makes his way into remote areas to collect and has had several relatively newly described Saturniidae species/subspecies named after him. Most of his excursions have been into remote areas of China and Vietnam. If you have specific collection requests for specimens that you would like to purchase, contact Victor via the link on the Actias chapae page. His email, phone and mailing addresses are now posted there.
Victor has also included a beautiful image of a live male Actias chrisbrechlini and indicates that species can be found in both Yunnan and Guangxi provinces in China.
Victor also sends an image of Saturnia (Rinaca) winbrechlini and confirms that species also flies in Sichuan, China.
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Robert Lemaitre has sent a series of beautiful images (nine images) of all five instars of Saturnia (Calosaturnia) walterorum.
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Teemu Klemetti has sent very nice images of spread specimens from Tanzania: Micragone nyasae male and female, Bunaeopsis chromata ??, Epiphora werneri, Pseudaphelia roseibrunnea, Gynanisa ata, G. terrali, G. westwoodi.
Teemu has also sent what appears to be Epiphora feae from south central Centre Province of Cameroon.
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Jerome Teva Paire has sent images of Gonimbrasia congolensis, Nudaurelia dione and Pseudobunaea illustris from Soyo, Zaire Province, northwestern Angola. Jerome is currently work-stationed on the enclave of Cabinda in northwestern Angola, and he will shortly be sending additional images. It will be very interesting to see what comes from this region in Africa as not much collecting has been done there. The Gonimbrasia congolensis is a a very nice addition to the WLSS.
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Kelly Price continues to send a number of images of spread specimens for id work. He has sent images from Arani, Cochabamba, Bolivia; Cartago, Costa Rica; Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia; Santa Catarina, Brazil; Leyet, Philippines; and Ecuador.
I believe I have correctly identified Dirphia fornax, Dirphia dolosa, Dirphia muscosa, Callodirphia arpi, Dirphiopsis epiolina, Dirphia curitiba, Cerodirphia opis, Cerodirphia vagans, Paradirphia semirosea, Hidripa paranensis, Anisota dissimilis, Citheronia laocoon, Antheraea semperi, Cricula trifenestrata treadawayi, Rothschildia triloba and a few others that I have to examine yet.
I will seek help on what is either Citheronia aroa or C. andina from Arani, Cochabamba, Bolivia, and possibly for a few others. I am also seeking confirmation on a series of males and females which I believe are Antheraea semperi from Leyet, Philippines. They are linked from the A. semperi file.
Also among the specimens are Molippa sabina, Automeris inornata, Catacantha ferruginea, Dirphia somniculosa confluens, Dirphiopsis flora and Pseudodirphia eumedide.
Kelly has also sent nice images of spread male and female (female not previously depicted on WLSS) Antheraea (Antheraeopsis) paniki paniki from North Luzon, Philippines. Kelly has also sent a female Antheraea mindoroensis, North Luzon, as well as a Brahmaea hearseyi ardjoeno male (not previously depicted on WLSS), from Mount Apo, Mindanao, Philippines.
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Paul Smith has sent a nice image of a female Neorcarnegia basirei taken in San Rafael NP, Itapua, Paraguay. Paul also confirms Automeris naranja, Automeris basalis, Oiticella lutecia, Adelonaevaia subangulata, Gamelia catharina, Adelowalkeria flavosignata, and Lonomia obliqua, all taken in the National Park in early March. Many of these are new "records" from Itapua, which was previously not well reported.
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I continue to work on the Leroy Simon collection and have recently posted Eupackardia calleta, Automerina cypria, Gamelia rindgei, Gamelia neidheferi.
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Jean-Michel Maes of Nicaragua writes:
"Dear friends,
This short note to inform that the dates for the Field Trips in
Nicaragua for end of 2008 are now available on the web page of
Bio-Nica at:
http://www.bio-nica.info
in the seccion of Giras de Campo / Field Trips."
Jean-Michel Maes
Museo Entomologico de Leon
Jean-Michel jmmaes@ibw.com.ni
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I have recently updated the Leroy Simon Collection with images of live Syssphinx montana, Samia ricini, Rothschildia erycina nigrescens, Rothschildia hesperus,.
There are many more images on the most recent DVD so I will work on them over the coming weeks.
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Sighting Reports
I am very interested in receiving sighting reports (date and specific location, including county/parish and state and/or province) for Saturniidae and Sphingidae throughout the year. The reports will be posted in newsletters and will also be used to update the state files and flight times.
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Joel Szymczyk reports a male luna at a gas station light, Cottonwood, Houston County, Alabama, February 25. Joel writes, "I think it's rather early in the year. We had a lot of rain a few days ago, and some fairly warm temps."
Joel reports two more luna sightings on March 3, same location.
Sherry Gerald in Wiggins, Stone County, southern Mississippi, reports a wild male luna mating with a caged female on March 6-7, 2008. Sweetgum and other deciduous trees are just starting to make new growth in her area.
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Paul Johnson reports Hyalophora euryalus on the wing in Pinnacles National Monument in San Benito County, CA., March 6, 2008.
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David Wikle reports Saturnia walterorum on the wing in the local San Gabriel Mountains, California, March 9.
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Ron Votaw reports Actias luna flying in Yard, Comal County, Texas, March 10. A female that emerged March 5, remained quiet in a large outdoor cage in cold weather. With the warmer weather on March 9 she called in a wild male in the early morning hours of March 10. Ron indicates about 1/3 of his summer brood lunas went into a diapause while the other 2/3 emerged as expected.
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Sphingidae Express
I have now received my copy of Hawkmoths of North America by James A. Tuttle. It is an excellent book and should long be the standard for U.S. and Canadian species.
Matthew Harvey sent me a very nice image of an Isognathus caricae larva from Bahia State in Brazil, id confirmed by Jean Haxaire.
Paul Johnson reports Euproserpinus, Arctonotus lucidus Proserpinus and Smerinthus cerisyi on the wing in Pinnacles National Monument in San Benito County, CA., March 4-6, 2008.
Michael van Buskirk reports Deidamia inscriptum on the wing in Bexar County, Texas, March 15. This is considerably west of its reported range in Texas. I have added a dot to the map in Jim Tuttle's book.
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Arctiidae Art
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Catocala Capers
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Caterpillars Too!, a North American butterfly website:
North and South Carolina pages have been updated.
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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.
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