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Hi All,
It is September 23 as I begin typing this note. Shortly I will also work on the October newsletter, and post it as well.
Things have been hectic here. I had two cataract surgeries, one in July and one in August. My wife and I managed to visit my oldest son and his family in Ottawa over the July 1 weekend. All family members (two sons and two daughters) and significant others managed to get together for some excellent beach weather here late July and early August.
I was either extremely lucky or blessed during recent hurricane. Two large trees over sixty feet tall each were downed by extremely high winds. Both trees, one a large poplar and the other a very large spruce, only missed striking the house by a foot or so. One fell form east to west early in the storm from the easterly winds, and the other fell from the north to the south as the storm moved northwards. We were without power from late Saturday afternoon to early Thursday evening.
I did get most of my rearing sleeves taken down before the storm hit. Of the four sleeves I left in the woods, two were shredded and two remained intact. I brought a small number of luna and cecropia larvae indoors and about fifty mature polyphemus larvae indoors so they could finish feeding in large tubs and cocoon there as well.
All larvae are done feeding here and most of the fallen trees are blocked up and split for next year's firewood.
+++++++++++++++++++
As soon as I get his page finished and posted, I am going to begin sending the following pricelist to all Canadian WLSS members:
Hi All,
If you are in Canada and wish to order overwintering cocoons and or pupae, please select what you would like from the following list:
Actias luna at $6.00 Canadian per cocoon
Antheraea polyphemus at $6.00 per cocoon
Dryocampa rubicunda (rosy maples) at $5.50/pupa; probably sold as trios (2 males and female at 16.50/trio)
Hyalophora cecropia at $7.50 per cocoon
I also have pupae of two Sphingidae species available:
Pachysphinx modesta at $5.50/pupa; probably sold as trios (2 males and female at 16.50/trio)
Smerinthus cerisyi at $5.50/pupa; probably sold as trios (2 males and female at 16.50/trio)
Please speed up my processing efforts by providing the following when you email me back with your order:
1) provide your complete name and shipping address;
2) specify species and quantities of each desired; note the pupae will likely be sold as trios, so specify how many trios;
3) indicate your payment method: interac e-tranfer; Paypal which will cost an additional 4.5% due to Paypal transaction fee; personal check; cashier's check;
money order.
Do not send payment with your initial request. Although the cocoons I am offering are nice, I did not harvest as many as I did in previous years, and I may have to ration some orders in an effort to get at least something to everyone. I hope to receive your requests by end of September, and should direct you to send appropriate payment amount October 1-3 after I have confirmed your order (initial or rationed) and have boxed it an taken it to post office to find out postage amount.
I will fill requests coming for WLSS members first, before I begin to respond to requests from non-members, but if I have anything left that is not spoken for as of September 30, I will begin to confirm non-member orders. I know that I have quite a few non-member requests from Manitoba for Dryocampa rubicunda, but I have already told non-members, who will be paying 10% more, that members will have first crack at whartever I have.
If you are in Canada and have good quality extra livestock of an Canadian Saturniidae pupae or cocoons or Sphingidae pupae that you would be willing to sell to me at wholesale prices please let me know as soon as possible.
Thanks for your interest.
Bill Oehlke +++++++++++++++++++++
For USA WLSS members, I still do not know what we will have for sale this year and I have not yet set prices. I should know by mid October and hope to be able to post an email a similar notice to the one above for US customers. I do expect cocoons of luna, Agapema homogena, polyphemus, io, promethea, cecropia, columbia gloveri, cynthia, and pupae of regalis and imperialis, and pupae of the following butterflies: eastern black swallowtails, spicebush swallowtails, tiger swallowtails, but in many cases larvae are still feeding and there is always the potential of late season problems.
If you are a US breeder who is not already supplying me with livestock, and you will have extra of any overwintering US Saturniidae, Sphingidae or butterfly cocoons or pupae. As in the past, all US stock will be sent in late october to one address in Maine where I will open and inspect the livestock. I have a longtime reliable Maine shipping partner who will receive livestock, assist me with inspection and will begin packaging and shipping your US orders from Maine in very late October or early November and then into the winter until supplies run out.
Jean has written to me and indicates he would like to start a North American Catocala collection. Jean, who resides in France, is one of the world's foremost worldwide Sphingidae experts/collectors. He is interested in trading some of his Sphingidae specimens for some of your Catocala. Let me know by email if you are interested in trading with Jean and I will provide you with his email address or provide him with your email address.
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