Hyalophora euryalus

How are you doing? Well, I hope. I just wanted to give some interesting news regarding Southern California saturnid collecting.

I live in Trabuco Canyon, California, about half-way between Los Angeles and San Diego and about 15 miles inland in the foothills of the Cleveland National Forest (Santa Ana Mountains). There is a 6,000 foot peak (Santiago) right up the street, pretty much. We've had a lot of rain in December and January and I've been really excited about the upcoming season.

It was only last year that I went out locally for the first time to collect at night with lights (Mercury vapor and blacklight). The first evening I drove up into the mountains on a dirt road known as Trabuco Creek Road. It runs along Trabuco Creek, of course (crosses it a few times as well, actually). This was in late March or early April. Well, that night I had two male H. euryalus appear. It was late, probably between 11:00 pm and midnight. I also got many Hyles lineata and a couple other sphingids, as well as a bunch of small noctuids, etc. I went out a few more times in the spring, but never pulled in any more euryalus.

The road up the mountain is rocky and rutted. I do not have a great vehicle for off roading, so I cannot go as high up the mountain as I would like. I would guesstimate that I was around 1500 to 2000 feet, maybe as much as 2500. The Ceanothus, a big food plant for this species, starts about 2500 to 3000 feet (between 5000 and 6000 it's one of the dominant plants). Still, I figured if I pulled in a couple last year from lower on the mountain in the middle to late season, I'd be ready early this year.

Okay, up to the present. Friday night (February 4, 2005) I went out and drove up the road. It was much worse than last year and there was much run-off. I had to drive into some deep holes filled with water. That meant I had to go in blind and hope I didn't rip into any big rocks. It was a tough haul until I got into the woods and up the mountain a bit.

I arrived at my spot from last year and set-up my lights. Pretty quickly I started getting your basic 1-1 1/2 moths, noctuids and such. I caught a few but then grew bored. I honestly did not expect anything more substantial. I didn't think I'd see euryalus for at least another couple of weeks. Mostly, I went out Friday to see how the road was and to get warmed-up for later in the season.

About 11:00 pm I was packing-up to leave. The blacklight, sheets and supporting structure were already put away. However, my compressor was still running and my mercury vapor lamp was still lit. Suddenly I caught something big out of the corner of my eye. A euryalus had just flown in and was flopping around in the grass. I quickly hand-caught it, not wanting to pause to look for my net (put away).

Well, that was enough for me; I set-up again and in the next hour pulled in another male. This one was even more perfect and gorgeous than the first. I saw it flying in, an exceptional sight as you see the flash of the white strikes on the wings. I netted this one and that may be why it was near perfect; very fresh and with a deep, deep purplish-red tone. Well, needless to say I was pretty jazzed. It was cold and rainy the rest of the weekend, I did not go out again. I probably will next week.

Okay, so why am I telling you this? It's so you can report to your readers that we now know that Hyalophora euryalus flies in the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County, California, as early as February 4th. That's pretty darn early in the year.

I hope this is a useful story or useful information. Take good care.

Dale

Dale Roberts
Trabuco Canyon, CA 92679

Dale,

Thanks for a well written, interesting account. Just by coincidence, I received this on February 5, 2005, from a southwest listserv:

"I caught my first eurylus last night at Bouquet Canyon just north of Santa Clarita (Los Angeles County, California). In my moth trap this morning I found a fairly plump male in pretty good shape, although I'd say he's been flying for at least a couple of days judging by the wear.

"I'll bet there will be more soon, especially at the lower altitudes. The Bouquet Canyon location is at about 2500'. The next warm spell should start to bring them out in numbers. None of my captive stock look ready to emerge yet - I'm hoping for some females to emerge at peak flight time."

Chris

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