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Hi All,
Happy Mothers' Day to all who are mothers.
I plan to begin taking a few cocoons out of cold storage tomorrow, May 11. All cocoons were taken out of cold storage the week of May 11-15. I will take the naked Sphingidae pupae out on May 20 along with a couple of Arctiidae cocoons.
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Many of you may be aware that the US Congress is currently exploring a bill (HR 669) regarding which non-native species may or may not be imported into the United States.
The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council is well organized and has a major stake in how this bill evolves. Certainly they would like to see an extensive list of non-indigenous plants and animals approved for importation and sale to US pet enthusiasts.
I recommend you read the recommendations on their site at http://www.pijac.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=504. The PIJAC site also contains a link to the full text of the proposed bill. That is also well worth reading.
I also recommend that WLSS members follow the recommendations of the PIJAC. Indications are they will be posting updates to their site in a timely fashion.
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Visit Egg availability and prices 2009: Non diapausing livestock
Polyphemus and cecropia eggs available from pairings on April 12. Alabama stock: there will be multiple broods.
Imperialis eggs are available from a May 9, pairing in Alabama.
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Steve Kohll has just sent beautiful images of live images of Salassa iris from his rearings from eggs provided by Viktor Sinyaev. Steve has provided foodplants and indicates images of larvae will be forthcoming. This is first time this species has been depicted on WLSS.
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I have recently written and posted a new article in the "Bill's Articles Section": Temperature Controls to Extend Breeding Opportunities. I will be doing some experimentation with chilling to prolong life of a potential pair, and I will report results at end of season. I invite others who are able to do the same. If you forward results or past experiences, I will post them to end of the article.
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Spring luna (non-diapausing) cocoons (Alabama stock) should be available in mid May. They will probably hatch in late May.
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Mark Lasko will be busy with hundreds of Saturnia pyretorum. He indicates eggs hatching from many females when he only observed one pairing. Second instars depicted on pyretorum file. Mark also sends a beautiful image of a fifth instar Actia rhodopneuma.
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Robert Lemaitre has just sent beautiful images of eggs and all instars of Coscinocera anteus from Papua New Guinea. eggs were obtained form Viktor Sinyaev.
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Carlos Marzano has sent me images of a Leucanella viridescens viridior cocoon from Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and he has also sent (pretty sure) images of larva, pupa and discarded skin and pupal shell of Eacles imperialis opaca from the same area.
The Eacles images could be of E. i. magnifica.
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Ezequiel Osvaldo Nunez Bustos has sent me images of Eudyaria zeta male (recto and verso) Punta Indio, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Copaxa decrescens male, Yacutinga, Misiones, Argentina, Automeris naranja male, Osununu, Misiones, Argentina, Heliconisa pagenstecheri male, Punta Indio, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Leucanella aspera male, Villa La Punta, Santiago del Estero, Argentina.
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Robert Vuattaux has sent me an image of a live Actias rhodopneuma male, overwintered outside in southern France.
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Viktor Sinyaev has sent nice images of closeup Actias chapae male and female showing differences in antennae.
He has also sent live images of Saturnia pyretorum male, female and verso closeup of female abdomen, showing protective covering, deposited with eggs. These are from Shaanxi, China, indicating a slight northerly range extension.
Viktor has also sent images of spread specimens of Loepa sinjaevi (first time depicted on WLSS) and Loepa obscuromarginata.
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Anthony Darby has sent very nice images of fifth instar Coscinocera anteus larvae that he has been tending for Alan marson while Alan is travelling. Larvae are being reared on privet. This is the first time anteus larvae have been depicted on WLSS, and first time a foodplant has been stated.
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Robert Zaun has sent beautiful images of fourth and fifth instar larvae of Actias chapae, fed on Pinus sylvestris (clone 129), linked access from chapae page and from 2009 Larvae Photography section.
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Carlos Lopez Vaamonde has sent me a scientific pdf file: Characterization of ten polymorphic microsatellite markers of Graellsia isabelae, co-authored by himself, Marta Vila, Neus Mari-Mena and Shen-Horn Yen. The article is linked from the G. isabelae page. It is for your personal reading and is not to be copied or redistributed.
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As I am doing updates to individual files, I am posting, near bottom of each page, a WLSS banner with flashing butterfly icons. If you click on one of the flashing butterflies, you will be casting a vote for my websites on Osipov's Top 100 Sites, giving me an advertising advantage in that only banners of the top ten sites are displayed. Please click on a butterfly as you visit. You will be taken to Osipov's site where there will be links to many insect sites, some of which may be of interest to you. If you are not interested in the listings, yo ucan simply close the page by clicking on the X in the upper right hand corner.
Thanks for your consideration. There is an active example at the bottom of this page.
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Ken Strothkamp writes, "I wanted to contact you well in advance of the summer season to ask your help once again in my research project on Lophocampa maculata. Your efforts last summer provided me with the opportunity to conduct a number of experiments on the PEI variey of this species.
"This winter, I made some progress in developing the RAPD PCR method for population studies of this moth. I have a method to archive DNA from caterpillars or moths and have some very preliminary data on three populations: Oregon, Prince Edward Island (which you provided) and New York (which David Wagner provided). None of my data are yet ready for publication but I believe they demonstrate that the method will provide useful information on the species.
"This summer, I am hoping to obtain material from as many geographic areas across North America as possible. I am trying to find individuals who would be willing to send me either eggs, caterpillars or adults of the species. I would of course pay for mailing. If you are able to get eggs again (or caterpillars later in the summer) I would very much appreciate it.
"I am also interested in any photos, particularly of late instar larvae or adults, from documented locations. There appear to be a number of phenotypic differences among individuals from different regions of the continent and I am trying to document them and hopefully correlate them with the molecular studies. Any information on natural history (larval host plants, etc.) would also be useful.
"My understanding of the range of this species is across the continent on both sides of the US/Canada border and south in the mountains of the US almost to the Mexican border. The populations in the southern mountains, I assume, are remnants isolated there as the climate warmed at the end of the last ice age. There is some geographic information on this species in the BAMONA database but it is limited to the US. I am currently attempting to obtain a paper by McGugan, BM in the Forest Lepidoptera of Canada series (1958). Do you know of any more recent data on the geographic range of moth species? I have Handfield's Papillons du Quebec, which is good but only covers the one province.
"If you know of individuals, particularly across Canada, I might contact I would be very grateful. Or, if you have any ideas on how to find people (email lists, etc) I would be happy to do the "legwork."
"The eggs you sent last summer were invaluable for the work I have been doing and if there is any possiblity of you providing more this summer I would be greatly in your debt."
Ken Strothkamp
Lophocampa maculata is a relativley small Arctiidae moth. The females respond to lights here on PEI in June-July. Females will oviposit readily in an inflated brown paper bag as saturnids do. Eggs are laid in large groups and incubation time is shorter than for Saturniidae. If you think you can help Ken, email him at Ken Strothkamp.
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A new member in US is looking for livestock of the mourning cloak butterfly. If you think you can help with eggs, larvaes pupae, please send me an email.
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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.
Bill and Jake McEwen from Eagle, Colorado, have sent useful information on the local polyphemus, gloveri and Hemileuca species. I have posted their accounts on the Colorado page.
Deb Lievens has provided sighting data for Grafton and Rockingham counties in New Hampshire. I have updated the New Hampshire map. *******************************
If you are thinking of creating a website, I heartily recommend 1 & 1 webhosting.
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Sphingidae Express
Rudi Haller has sent beautiful images of Mimas christophi male, female, larvae, and I continue to develop the worldwide Sphingidae pages, slowly but surely.
I am beginning to post images of African Saturniidae from Tanzania, courtesy of David Bygott, and from Gabon, courtesy of Jean-Louis Albert and am focusing on country checklists for Africa. I hope to have the African coutries checklists finished (at least in preliminary stage) by end of April. Electronic images and data for African Sphingidae would be much appreciated.
Jean Haxaire has sent images of two very rare African Sphingidae, and I am making slow but steady progress on the African Sphingidae pages. Jean-Louis Albert will be providing many recto and verso images from Gabon, Sebastian Brandner will be providing images from Cameroon, David Bygott will be providing images from Tanzania. Teemu Klemetti and Hubert Mayer will also be assisting with the African Sphingidae.
I am also hoping for images from South Africa and Malawi.
Ezequiel Osvaldo Nunez Bustos has just sent images of Unzela japix discrepans (Yacutinga, Misiones, Argentina, not previously depicted on WLSS) and Callionima grisescens (Villa La Punta, Santiago del Estero (November 2008)).
I have completed thumbnail checklists for Rockingham and Grafton counties in New Hampshire based on a cd sent to me by Deb Lievens.
Larry Valentine has sent beautiful images of freshly emerged wild, live Protambulyx strigilis, recto and verso, from Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Jennifer L. Bundy has recently provided a series of images of what could be a larva of Euproserpinus phaeton or Euproserpinus euterpe from Los Angeles County, California. I have posted a link to the images from both the euterpe and phaeton pages.
I have posted a special request for help with images of larvae of Lintneria species from the Americas. I am especially interested in images from Central and South America and from the southwestern US. Texas, Oklahoma to Arizona. Help would be much appreciated.
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Arctiidae Art
Kirby Wolfe indicates he will be sending me many electronic images of Arctiidae from Costa Rica. I will shortly begin construction of a worldwide Arctiidae site. Those who wish to contribute images of adults and/or larvae or any other stages are welcome to do so. All images that I use remain the property of respective photographers.
I do not have very much knowledge about this family. Anyone with an abiding interest and some expertise with classification, who would be willing to help with identifications is asked to please contact me by email.
This is a very large family. I probably will not have time to actively persue images and information, but I will make a concerted effort to organize and post what is sent to me.
There are some interesting/beautiful Arctiids here on Prince Edward Island, and I did rear some Lophocampa maculata here this summer.
If you begin to send images, please always indicate as much data as possible with the images: precise location, date, flight season, wingspan, foodplant, extended range, if you know it, etc.
Idalus critheus San Jose, Costa Rica, December 3, 2008, Kirby Wolfe.
Catocala Capers
Many states now have checklists and there is state by state links table on new http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/catocala.html.
Corrections, additions of data and or images would be appreciated.
I am going to expand the Catocala website to include worldwide species. I am very interested in receiving data and electronic images of European and Asian Catocala. I think there are also a couple of species in Central America.
Harry King has sent me a very nice image of a spread Catocala caesia from Sunny Flat Camp Ground, Coronado National Forest, Cochise County, Arizona, 47mm, June 14-15, 1998. I have posted the image to the C. caesia file.
Deb Lievens has provided images of New Hampshire catocala with data. I will be working on those shortly.
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Caterpillars Too!, a North American butterfly website:
Leroy Simon recent submissions have been posted to this site. Personal access pages for US members will include direct links to county Sphingidae adult and larvae pictoral checklists as well as to an active state Catocala list.
Wyoming pages and Texas Hesperiidae pages have been created or are being created.
Mark Lasko sends an image of overwintered Limenitis arthemis astyanax larvae from new Jersey, fresh from winter hibernation in hibernaculi.
Harry Dale King has sent images of live and spread Boloria freija from northern Michigan and Wisconsin. He has also sent Boloria frigga saga, Boloria eunomia dawsoni and Erebia discoidalis. Harry has also sent habitat images for several of the bog species.
Ian Miller has sent me soem sightings for Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, and I have updated maps to include Northern Blue and Green Comma.
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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.
Two new names have been added to the Coleoptera page as of January 16, 2009.
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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