Hi All,
Happy Mothers' Day. I will begin taking cocoons out of cold storage when I see the first cabbage white of the year. That usually happens around May 10. I will stagger eclosions by taking out just a couple of cocoons every other day.
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Actias luna larvae are starting to spin up in Texas and cocoons should be available for shipping May 6 - 16, with adults emerging two to four weeks after spinup. Luna cocoons are $5.00 each and there is one shipping and handling fee of $8.00 whether you order one cocoon or twenty cocoons.
Eupackardia calleta larvae from southern Texas stock are spinning cocoons now (May 5). They are being reared in Texas, but further north. I expect they will try a second brood with adults emerging in September-October, but they might emerge earlier than that. Calleta cocoons are $6.00 each, and could be shipped in same box as luna cocoons if you order both species.. Otherwise the $8.00 S & H would also apply to calleta cocoons if ordered without lunas.
Now is the time to order and pay for eggs of the various species expected to be available this spring/summer.
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Here is 2013 Egg Price List with anticipated species and ordering instructions.
Please always send complete shipping address, preferred payment method, species and quantities desired, and some idea as to when you would like eggs shipped when requesting eggs.
I am now requiring that all orders be paid for in advance. This requirement does not indicate that I do not trust you. It is more a case of I do not trust myself to take the time to go back over records to see who has paid and who has not paid after eggs have already been shipped. I know it is easy to forget, and sometimes very honourable people forget. I do pay my shippers for the eggs I have shipped. That gets recorded when I send out notification to shippers.
I do not cash checks for eggs, until after eggs get shipped. That is a practice that I follow religiously as it makes sure that I have honoured my part of the transaction before I cash the checks.
There is usually a significant time delay, however, between time customers place orders and the date upon which I receive payments by check or international money orders, usually 8-10 days, sometimes longer. This requires extra time on my part with regard to record keeping.
Payment by paypal makes things much simpler for me. Payment by personal checks, sent well in advance of when you want eggs, results in my stapling of checks into my egg binder, recording requests on my spreadsheets, marked "pif" for paid in full, and then dispatching egg shipments at appropriate times when my shippers indicate they have the eggs available.
I still have a couple of honourable customers who have not sent eggs payments for eggs shipped in 2012.
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Luna eggs again available from both Texas and Alabama, April 14-17
Luna cocoons available from Alabama, April 10-20
Polyphemus egg available from Oregon, April 29-30
Rothschildia orizaba eggs available soon
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David Moskowitz writes, "The Second Annual National Moth Week will be held globally from July 20-28, 2013. It is open to everyone , everywhere regardless of level of expertise. Consider participating and shining a much-needed light on moths. Information, registration and details can be found at nationalmothweek.org"
Wolfgang Walz Hillerman is providing many very nice images from Pedro Leopoldo and Matozinhos, Minas Gerais, Brazil. I am helping with identifications and posting images when I have time. I think these of Molippa sabina are very nice.
Molippa sabina female, Pedro Leopoldo, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
October 1, 2011, courtesy of Wolfgang Walz Hillermann.
Molippa sabina female, Pedro Leopoldo, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
October 1, 2011, courtesy of Wolfgang Walz Hillermann.
For the first time a female Automeris rectilinea is depicted on WLSS.
Automeris rectilinea female, 71mm, Lassanoe, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
November 1919, Cornell University Collection, via Ryan Saint Laurent.
Another first:
Eubergioides bertha female, Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
August 9, 1953, courtesy of Cornell University Collection, via Ryan Saint Laurent.
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
Albert Thurman has sent recto and verso images of Eumorpha capronnieri, documenting the presence of this species in Panama. I have posted images to the capronnieri file. This also marks the first time a verso image of capronnieri has been depicted on Sphingidae of the Americas website.
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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 $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.