Hi All,
During an electrical storm in mid August I lost incoming emails, including those with electronic images from spring and summer. If you sent images and they have not been posted, please resubmit. I can remember submissions from Anatolij Kulik, Alan Marson, Dave Rolfe, Robert Lemaitre and Franz Renner and Rainer Plontke. Perhaps there were others.
I hope to have all cocoons/pupae harvested by early September and will have more time to work on images then.
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Robert Lemaitre has resent beautiful images of hybrid Graellsia isabellae male x Actias felicis female, male, cocoon and all instars, the results of many individuals working as a team. Images and credits have been posted in the hybrids section.
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Franz and Julian Renner have sent great images of Brahmaea certhia larvae. I have posted them from a link on the Brahaea certhia page. I especially like the fourth instar portrait.
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Martin Jagelka has sent a beautiful image of a live male Saturnia (Rinaca) anna. The image has been added to the photography section, and it has also been posted to the species file.
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I have a limited number (73) of Hyalophora euryalus cocoons, reared in California this summer, for sale in U.S.A. only. They will be $7.20 U.S./cocoon, maximum order of eight cocoons, plus $8.00 S & H. I will not advertise them publicly until end of September, if I still have any not spoken for at that time. I will be ready to begin taking cocoon orders September 15 (but will begin reserving euryalus now) and will post an updated pricelist on that date. Most of the usual species are anticipated with some slight price increases, but I do not want to get too far ahead of myself. I am still tending larvae, and I do not know for sure what other species might become available through subcontractors.
If you have Saturniidae cocoons or Sphingidae pupae available in bulk at wholesale prices, please contact me. I can receive them here from Canadian sources and have them received in New Hampshire from U.S. sources.
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Horst Kach has sent great images of Copaxa satellita males and female and all instars from Misahualli (Napo Province), Ecuador. Horst also reports that an image of fourth instar larvae, previously submitted as Copaxa satellita from Los Bancos (Pichincha Province), is actually one of Copaxa multifenestrata. I have posted images and made the correction.
Horst has also sent images of female and third instar Copaxa multifenestrata from Los Bancos (Pichincha Province).
Dirphia subhorca larval images (instars 2-5) have been posted. Paradirphia andicola larval images (instars 1-5) have been posted.
Horst was very happy to have captured male and female Automeris andicola from Samvara, Jama, Manabi Province, Ecuador, in July. He sent images and obtained eggs. He is rearing the larva on a legume (Cassia sp.).
Great images of Rothschildia erycina nigrescens have also been posted.
See Citheronia bellavista cinerea, Titaea lemoulti, Copaxa andensis, Citheronia equatorialis.
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Robert Vuattoux has just sent me a stunning image of a live male Ceranchia apollina from Madagascar.
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Luigi Racheli of Italy has begun to send me data and images of some of the rarer Saturniidae. I have just posted images of Paradaemonia ruschii, Paradaemonia susannae (holotype), Automerina vala and Automeris schwartzi female from his extensive collection. He has also sent numerous additions/correctitions to the Peru checklists.
A list of Luigi's publications has been posted to the WLSS. I expect his contributions will greatly improve the accuracy and scope of the WLSS.
I have just posted images of female Automeris duchartei and female Automeris amanda subobscura from Napo Province, Ecuador. The females of these two species were not previously depicted on WLSS.
On September 11 I received a package of Luigi's publications and I will begin to use them to update the more localized checklists.
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Leroy Simon has sent a couple of cds with beautiful images. I hope to create a special section, "The Leroy Simon Collection", very soon.
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Ulf Drechsel has adivsed me of a new website for Bio Diversity in Paraguay. There are very useful distribution maps for Saturniidae and Sphingidae as well as many beautiful pictures.
The opening page for the Insects section is at http://www.pybio.org/INSECTA.htm
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I have recently responded to some questions about pupation techniques for Citheronia species in the Questions and Answers portion and in Bill's Articles section.
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I recently saw an ad for Saturniidae eggs from Taiwan. There was an incorrrect identification of the moth in the image accompanying the ad.
I sent the following email:
"The small image you advertise on insectnet.com,
as Antheraea formosana, is Caligula japonica arisana
(Shiraki, 1913).
"If you would be so kind to send me a large jpg image of this moth, I
would very much appreciate it. Good luck with your sales.
"I am happy to id any Saturniidae that you send me pictures of from
Taiwan. If you send high quality electronic images of Saturniidae
from Taiwan, I will post them on my World's Largest Saturniidae site
and provide a link to your website. I have many members who might be
interested in purchasing Saturniidae eggs from you or specimens if
you decide to expand your business."
Non-member Li-An-Shn writes back, "Dear friend,
Yes, all our stock are sold out.
In fact, we focus on beetles. My friends asked our team to collect
moths, now, we try to collect them in the mountain. It is very easy.
we will send more photo to you, when we collect them."
Some of you interested in beetles might want to check out this site http://screw-wholesale.myweb.hinet.net/
Some of you may wish to contact Li-An-Shn to get on an email list should more eggs become available from this region.
Email: Li-An-Shn
I have no idea how reliable this company might be, but there is prospect of obtaining livestock or specimens of some interesting species/subspecies.
Li-An-Shn reports a female Samia species from "north island of Taiwan" is laying eggs September 8. Hopefully she will send an electronic imageso I can determine if it is Samia wangi or Samia watsoni.
Li-An-Shn has sent image, not great, but clearly Samia wangi.
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Alan Marson has sent beautiful images of live Rothschildia hesperus male and cocoon from Ecuador and Rothschildia aurota female and cocoon from Peru.
He has also sent larval image of Archaeoattacus edwardsii and Eacles imperialis anchicayensis. *******************************
Rainer Plontke has sent images, linked from species files, of larvae of Actias felicis, Actias selene, Rothschildia aurota and Rothschildia aurota speculifera.
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Yuri Berezhnoi from Vladivostok, Far East Russia, writes, August 20:
Dear Bill,
I can exchange or/and sell wintering eggs from following
Saturniidae:
The items available now (quantity and price per dozen in euros):
Antheraea y. yamamai - 100 - 12
Neoris h. huttoni - 100 - 18
The eggs will be obtained in 2-3 weeks:
Rhodinia fugax diana - 100 - 15
Rhodinia j. jankowskyi - 50 - 24
Caligula boisduvali fallax - 200 - 9
Caligula j. japonica - 100 - 12
Airmail delivery - 5 euros.
I need the wintering eggs from any Saturniidae except the listed taxa."
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Montreal Insect Show 2007
October 20th-21 2007, from 9 am to 5 pm
College de Maisonneuve, 3800 Sherbrooke East, Montreal
(Located one corner from the Olympic Stadium and the Montreal Insectarium)
Contact Yves-Pascal Dion at info@insect-trade.com
www.insect-trade.com
Yves-Pascal Dion has just sent me a series of Bunaeopsis images from Burkina Faso. Many of the species he has sent are listed by Thierry Bouyer in his 1999 Catalogue of African Saturniidae as "incertae sedis" and Thierry has had a look at the specimens and feels they may all be variations of the same species. Much work needs to be done on the Saturniidae, especially Bunaeopsis from Burkina Faso. None-the-less I have posted images to Bunaeopsis dido, elisa, fenestricula and nigericola files which I will add to the Bunaeopsis genus list as "incertae sedis."
Yves-Pascal also sends images of male and female Lobobunaea phaeax which Thierry equates with Lobobunaea christyi resnoctuae. I will shortly update the Lobobunaea genus file to include all the synonyms listed by Thierry.
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Sphingidae Express
Jim Tuttle has advised me that his new book The Hawk Moths of North America is going to be released sometime this year. There is a discount for advance sale purchases. Info can be had at Introductory Offer.
I have received many Sphingidae images this summer and have been creating adult thumbnail as well as larval thumbnail checklists for many U.S. counties.
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Arctiidae Art
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Catocala Capers
I am starting to see Catocala (blandula and ultronia) here on P.E.I. (August 8, 2007). Catocala relicta made its first appearance at lights in late August.
I have recently created a New Hampshire thumbnail checklist based on outstanding images sent to me by Ron White of Coos County. Checklist is at New Hampshire Catocala.
Ron has also been sending me butterfly and Sphingidae images, and has begun to send host plant and butterfly nectar source images.
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Caterpillars Too!, a North American butterfly website:
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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.
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I periodically receive images of Saturniidae that I am unable to id.
I usually seek help from Stefan Naumann and/or Ulrich Paukstadt for Russian, eastern Asian and southeast Asian species. Thierry Bouyer helps a great deal with African species as does Rolfe Oberprieler and Rodolphe Rougerie. For South and Central America I usually call upon Kirby Wolfe, Bernhard Wenczel, Thibaud Decaens, Eurides Furtado and/or Carlos Mielke.
Occasionally these gentlemen and a few others are also stumped. So that I do not lose track of the images, I am going to create a section called "Undetermined Saturniidae" where the images and all data I have received with them will be posted. Hopefully, over the years, all will eventually be identified.
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