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Post by thanos on Oct 18, 2011 3:30:01 GMT -8
A1 female from Oaxaca,Mexico . One of my favourite Saturniidae specimens. Just off the board. Thanos Attachments:
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Oct 18, 2011 3:36:18 GMT -8
I wonder what the chances of catching a stray one of these here in Georgia would be. lol I would love to have one of these in my collection, but I only collect what I can find in my area.
Beautiful moth!
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Post by starlightcriminal on Oct 18, 2011 6:02:32 GMT -8
You can find Antheraea polyphemus around you, it's the most common Sat in our area after A. luna and A. io I think, in my experience anyway. Quite a few E. imperialis and C. regalis and sepulchralis as well. Check bright isolated gas stations around April-May and July-August, those seem to be peak months around here. I saw lunas almost every single night I went out for a couple of months. You can find Sats most of the time in Florida save the very few really cold months- December through February. Even then people find Lunas during warm spells. Poor little guys have a hard time getting the season's in order here- heck, sometimes I do too! What you can find (maybe, I can in Florida on rare occasions) are Ascalapha. They are accidental migrants but often enough around that I have one and have seen several myself. Those will make the other US collectors drool  |
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Post by wingedwishes on Oct 18, 2011 16:24:48 GMT -8
Polyphemus or cecropia also.
Starlight, I find that Lunas are rarer in cities than Polyphemus but become more common rurally. Do you find that to be true where you are?
Thanos - Expertly done! The first moth I reared was a Polyphemus and I have a special liking to any sats similarly patterned.
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Post by saturniidave on Oct 18, 2011 17:44:16 GMT -8
Gorgeous moth Thanos! So it was you who outbid me! |
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Post by thanos on Oct 18, 2011 20:49:08 GMT -8
Thank you all for your nice comments. Dave, lol  , believe me I really thought ,when bidding on the auctions of that seller, that you (such a Saturniid lover  ) would be for sure one of the other bidders ,but I don't know your ebay id and feedback score . As you know,this seller put totally 3 females in his auctions,all A1 ! When I saw them, I knew I had to grab one of them, as I was wanting a female for a long time,but had never seen them offered. But it was really difficult to win one,as the others(including me) were bidding like crazy,and the first one went for 300+usd,the second for 400+, and I was the luckiest one to win the third female for the lowest price (around 260) . Did you maybe win one of the others ? Thanos ps: Dave,did you see the price that ended 2 days ago on ebay(starting from 0.99) one A1 female of Antheraea godmani... ? 551 usd..! It was,too,the first time that saw female of this species offered, but I wouldn't spend so much money for it,so I left it. |
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Post by africaone on Oct 19, 2011 4:00:12 GMT -8
waow ..  what would be the mexicana female  |
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Post by starlightcriminal on Oct 19, 2011 5:19:12 GMT -8
Hmm, yes Winged that does seem to hold true. I often find polyphemus while walking my dog at night but luna I see pretty much only when I am out looking. I see a lot more lunas than polyphemus in general though, they are very predictable during the summer in rural areas.
I have a couple of local Cecropia, they are the least common of the three you mentioned down here in my experience. Very nice though, a special treat for a Florida collector. I am a Sat fanatic myself, they're my favorite.
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Post by oehlkew on Oct 19, 2011 5:30:28 GMT -8
Very nice picture of female Antheraea montezuma, Thanos.
Can you provide the wingspan for that specimen?
I also request permission to post image, credited to you, on WLSS.
Bill Oehlke
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Post by saturniidave on Oct 19, 2011 8:54:31 GMT -8
Thanos, the prices of all of them went way above what I could afford, so I will just stick with the male I have for now.
No, I did not see the godmani, but stuff from Mexico does seem to go for ridiculous amounts of money.
This is all very odd really considering that collecting in Mexico is banned, they must be being collected illegally.
If I came across a female of either species I would keep her for eggs.
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Post by arrowhead on Oct 19, 2011 23:02:00 GMT -8
Very nice looking Saturnid. I'm obviously too far north to encounter one but I see Luna,
Royal Walnut and Eacles regulary every year. In my part of North Carolina you can figure out almost to the day when they will appear. I'm not a Lepidotera colector but it's always nice to see them come to my lights, often outflying bats with amazing moves and turns.
Congrats, Darrell
i see
9and
i'm maim=nly into beetles
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Post by thanos on Oct 20, 2011 3:21:35 GMT -8
Bill, of course you can post the photo of this female on your great site, and it's a honour for me. I have just sent you a PM. Wingspan ( it's accurate,as I have spread the forewing at 90 angle between the inner margin and the thorax) is 151 mm. Thierry,together with this female, I got also a pair of A.mexicana. I have the male on th board at the moment,and the female I sent back to the seller for replacement,cause I received it with some damage. When I will get the new female and will have both specimens spread,I will post a photo of the pair. Starlightcriminal, I also love cecropia ! Here is a nice and big male from Canada I've just degreased with the help of gazoline . Thanos Attachments:
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Post by starlightcriminal on Oct 20, 2011 4:48:33 GMT -8
That's a very nice Cecropia. I can't see scale but my impression is that the northern examples are bigger than those which are found here. I think every Lepidopterist that isn't specifically working with them has a little bit of Sat envy . Where I am am there are maybe a dozen or so species. I am not really positive actually, it might even be less. Two Citheronia, E. imperialis, A. polyphemus, H. Cecropia, two or three Callosamia sp. on occasion, two Anisota sp., A. luna, A. io, Hemileuca maiia rarely, maybe something I missing as I am calling roll in my head. All are really nice, to me. Bill, feel free to chime in here if something strikes you that I am missing. I think that's it though. Really the northeast and southwest seem to have more species of Sat to me but it may be because I don't see them that I think of them as being more numerous. Where is the center of diversity for North America, anyone know? |
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evra
Full Member
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Post by evra on Oct 20, 2011 14:46:08 GMT -8
Arizona has about 30 species of Saturniids I think, and Texas has a lot too. Both are big states with lots of different habitats though.
As far as finding many species flying simultaneously, I think Santa Cruz Co., Arizona during late July is the best place in the U.S. and Canada. There are 14 species on the wing during that time, and you can get as many as 12 per night.
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Post by starlightcriminal on Oct 21, 2011 4:15:30 GMT -8
Here it is predators that limit them- Florida is of course an extremely habitat diverse and biologically rich state as well. But that means we have a diverse set of predators, mostly several genera of paper wasps from what I read that keep Sats somewhat limited in number. I don't know if or why there are fewer total species though, probably a number of reasons both historical and ecological.
I need to take a trip to Arizona someday to collect. Another destination on the long long list.
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, believe me I really thought ,when bidding on the auctions of that seller, that you (such a Saturniid lover 
) would be for sure one of the other bidders ,but I don't know your ebay id and feedback score 
