February 15, 2016 to March 15, 2016

Hi All,

In Canada I am completely sold out of cocoons and pupae.

I shipped cocoons to US WLSS members in late October while I was in New Jersey. As of January 16 I still have the following available for shipping within the US: polyphemus, promethea, homogena, calleta cocoons, maybe cecropia (waiting for a response). That is all that I have available.

Luna are now all sold out with no prospects of getting more. I can probably still bring in more polyphemus, promethea, cecropia, homogena and calleta if anyone is interested in those species.

If you wish to place an order, please include the following three items in your email to me:

1) Complete shipping address
2) Species and quantities desired
3) Your preferred payment method: I can accept personal checks (preferred); International money orders in US funds; Cashier's checks in US funds; Paypal in US funds. With paypal there is a 4% Paypal transaction fee.

Here is what is left from the Fall 2015 Pricelist:

Agapema homogena $7.50/cocoon; seldom offered; yes; at reduced prices this year as there is a larger supply; seldom offered, nice cocoons
Antheraea polyphemus reduced to 5.00/cocoon to $4.50 if you order ten or more;
Callosamia promethea reduced to 4.50/cocoon, only about twenty left; currently all spoken for unless I get a cancellation, which might make eight available.
Eupackardia calleta $6.50/cocoon, to hatch spring or fall of 2016, only about a dozen left.

Hyalophora cecropia $7.00/cocoon, to hatch in spring-summer of 2016.

Shipping and handling on all orders within US will be $9.00 whether you order a single item or 100 items, etc.

Smaller orders will be shipped First Class Mail with a tracking number. Larger orders will be shipped Priority.

Do not send any payment until I have confirmed your order. Bill Oehlke
Box 476
Montague, PE, C0A 1R0
Canada

Check with post office before you mail the payment to make sure you have correct postage. It might even be more than $1.25 by time you are ready to send it.

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Quite a few people have requested prices on eggs for 2016. Here is what is anticipated to be available. If you wish to make a request, please help me with my record keeping. I need your complete shipping address in your email to me. I need species and quantities desired. I need to know your payment method in advance, i.e. personal check, cashier's check, paypal. I need to know when you can begin or want to receive eggs.

I ship eggs to Canadian customers in June and sometimes into very early July from PEI. I expect to have Actias luna, Antheraea polyphemus, Dryocampa rubicunda, Hyalophora cecropia, Hyalophora columbia. I will send out personal email notifications to all Canadian WLSS members in early May. Luna and polyphemus and rubicunda eggs are $6.00/dozen; cecropia and columbia eggs are $7.00/dozen. Shipping and handling will depend on your destination. GST or HST will depend upon your destination province. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to ship multiple species in the same packet so there may be S & H charges for each species, but if I can send two or more species in same packet, I will pass the savings on to you regarding the shipping costs.

I have shipping partners within the United States who ship eggs for me to US customers. We expect to have the following species:

Actias luna at $5.00 US/dozen
Antheraea polyphemus at $5.00 US/dozen
Automeris io at $6.00 US/dozen
Callosamia promethea at $5.00 US/dozen
Citheronia regalis at $7.00 US/dozen
Eacles imperialis at $7.00 US/dozen
Hyalophora cecropia at $6.00 US/dozen
Hyalophora columbia at $6.00 US/dozen
Samia cynthia at $6.00 US/dozen

I do not have a commitment yet for 2016, but often in late July into very early August I have the following Arizona species available:

Anisota oslari; July-August at $6.00 US/dozen
Antheraea oculea; July-August at $6.00 US/dozen
Automeris cecrops pamina; July-August at $6.00 US/dozen
Citheronia spendens sinaloensis; July-August at $7.00 US/dozen
Eacles oslari; July-August at $7.00 US/dozen
Rothschildia cincta; July-August at $6.00 US/dozen
Syssphinx hubbardi; July-August at $6.00 US/dozen
Syssphinx montana; July-August at $6.00 US/dozen

I do not have a commitment yet for 2016, but often in March and again in late summer or early fall I have the following Texas species available:

Eupackardia calleta at $6.00 US/dozen
Rothschildia lebeua forbesiat $6.00 US/dozen

Shipping charges are more consistent within US so there will be one flat shipping rate of $7.00/species no matter how many dozen eggs you request of that species. I do not charge any taxes on US orders. There would be a paypal charge of 4% if you wish to pay by paypal.

If you are interested in any US species not on the list, let me know and I will see if I can make any arrangements. If you wish to become an egg shipper for me, please send me an email, and I will reply with details of the working arrangement.

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Sam Jaffe writes,

Sunday, January 31.

Dear "The Caterpillar Lab" supporters,
You are cordially invited to attend the opening of...

Life on the Leaf Edge: Photographs of Native Caterpillars
presented by Samuel Jaffe & the Museum of American Bird Art

Lab director Samuel Jaffe will be bringing his critically acclaimed native caterpillar photography exhibit "Life on the Leaf Edge" to Mass Audubon's Museum of American Bird Art in Canton, Massachusetts: (Address: 963 Washington St, Canton, MA 02021, United States; Phone: +1 781-821-8853). Many pieces on display have never been on exhibit in New England before!

Please join us at the free opening day event, meet the artist, and learn about the native caterpillars of New England. Drop in any time between 1pm and 5pm on Sunday, January 31st. See the official press release below for more information on the event or visit the events website here www.thecaterpillarlab.org

We also want to invite you all to explore The Caterpillar Lab's new website at www.thecaterpillarlab.org where you can find information about our organization, many of Samuel Jaffe's original images and videos, and great original resources to help you explore the world of native caterpillars further.

Hope to see you all at the opening!

- The Caterpillar Lab Board and Staff

Meet the Artist at the FREE Opening Reception

At the Museum of American Bird Art on Sunday, January 31

“Sam Jaffe’s spectacular photographs of New England caterpillars will open your eyes to the wonders of nature close to home,” says Museum of American Bird Art (MABA) director Amy Montague. Jaffe’s new exhibition, Life on the Leaf Edge: Photographs of Native Caterpillars, opens Sunday, January 31 at MABA. He will give a gallery talk and meet informally with visitors at the opening reception which runs from 1:00 to 5:00pm. The gallery talk will begin at 3:00. Light refreshments will be served, and admission is free for all.

A New England based naturalist, photographer, and educator, Jaffe grew up in Eastern Massachusetts chasing birds, mucking through ponds, and turning over leaves. For the last seven years he has been photographing caterpillars, exhibiting his photographs and organizing programs to promote these special creatures to the public.

His photographs have received widespread acclaim. They have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and on the widely read art and design blog, This is Colossal. Jaffe has exhibited at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio, the Boston Children’s Museum, and the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics, among other venues.

Each year Jaffe raises thousands of caterpillars of hundreds of native species, capturing female butterflies and moths, collecting their eggs and releasing them. The founder of the non-profit The Caterpillar Lab, Jaffe’s goal is to share his passion for the caterpillars of New England through first-hand encounters at museums and nature centers as well as the stunning images in his photographs and videos.

For a special Earth Day event, The Caterpillar Lab will bring live caterpillars to the Museum of American Bird Art on Saturday, April 23, 2016 from 1 to 5 pm..

Life on the Leaf Edge: Photographs of Native Caterpillars by Samuel Jaffe is open to the public January 31 through April 24, Tuesday–Sunday from 1 to 5 pm.

The Caterpillar Lab
222 West St.
Keene, NH 03431
617-733-7312
www.TheCaterpillarLab.org

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Enio Branco has recently granted me permission to post his beautiful images of live Saturniidae from Sao Paulo, Brazil. I have updated the Sao Paulo page and have recently posted live images of Arsenura sylla hercules, Caio romulus, Copiopteryx decerto, Copiopteryx semiramis phoenix, Copiopteryx sonthannaxi, Loxolomia serpentina, Paradaemonia mayi, Paradaemonia pluto, Rhecyntis pseudomartii. In many cases Enio has provided verso images, and I added Paradaemonia pluto to the Sao Paulo checklist, based on his submissions. Lemaire had only documented a presence in Rio de Janeiro.

I have also posted another first from Enio, a live male of Oxytenis biicornis. More images to follow as I process Rothschildia, Copaxa, the many ceratocampanae and Hemiileucinae images.

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Much to my delight Ezequiel Nunez Bustos was able to find and submit images of Asthenidia podaliraria males. This marks the first time this species has been depicted on WLSS.

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I am also very pleased to post what I have tentativley identified as a Homoeopteryx syssauroides male, Juquitiba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, February 8, 2016, courtesy of Marcelo Massari. Images of all of the above have been posted to respective files.

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Sphingidae Express

I recently received an image from Maxime Pastore confirming Unzela pronoe in Nicaragua. It was anticipated there, but to my knowledge this is the first documentation of its presence.

I also added Adhemarius daphne to the Sphingide of Brazil checklist. Its omission was an error on my part, but a recent submission from Carolina Miguel from Rio de Janeiro helped me find and correct the error/omission.

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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 $1.25 (2015 rate) 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 and 1&1, 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;

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 $1.25 postage (2015 rate). 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 other WLSS 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 information on WLSS, and I try to accomodate when appropriate or within my ability to do so.