leptraps
Banned
Enter your message here...
Posts: 2,397
|
Post by leptraps on Jul 4, 2014 9:10:42 GMT -8
I will begin my trip out west on 8 July. I will be gone 27 days, SD, WY, CO, UT and NM. I cannot monitor my Bait Traps while I am gone. I checked all of the Flat Bottom and Slotted Pan Bait Traps yeasterday and removed them. In their place I set out three Kill Type Bait Traps. One in my yard and two in Harrison County.
I collected the following in my Bait Traps in:
Harrison County:
Catocala innubens Catocala epione Catocala insolabilis Catocala flebilis Catocala judith Catocala dejecta Catocala palaeogama Catocala subnata Catocala ilia Catocala amica Catocala lineelia (Although I took both luneella & amica at the same location. I know I have both) Catocala andromedea Catocala ultronia Catocala mycronympha (Worn & extremeky abundant in several forms) Catocala minuta
I also collected a fresh Ascalapha odorata. I have never seen one this early in the year.
Perry County
Catocala innubens Catocala epione Catocala neogama Catocala flebilis Catocala judith Catocala dejecta Catocala palaeogama Catocala subnata Catocala ilia Catocala lineelia Catocala andromedea Catocala ultronia Catocala mycronympha
In Kentucky:
Owen County:
Catocala innubens Catocala epione Catocala dejecta Catocala palaeogama Catocala neogama Catocala ilia (Very abundant) Catocala ultronia Catocala mycronympha (Worn & extremeky abundant in several forms) Catocala cerogama Catocala crataegi Catocala gryneus (Very worn female)
In my yard in Georgetown:
Catocala ilia Catocala palaeogama Catocala obscura Catocala piatrix Catocala relicta (I have collected two specimens, both in Scott County since 2008, a rare Catocala this far south)
I also collected on of those large Black & White long horn beetles.
This has been a great year for Catocala. I have a feeling I may get some nice Catocala in Colorado.
I traveled to Alton, IL and when I stpped at the Illinois Rest Area west of the Wabash River on I-64, there were four Catocala ilia and a C. palaeogama at the ights of the buildings.
While I am out west I will be attending the Lepidopterists Society Annual Meeting in Park City, UT. See you there.
|
|
|
|
Post by trehopr1 on Jul 4, 2014 12:41:16 GMT -8
I notice on your listing Leptraps that you have not collected any Catocala cara. Is this species a later summer occurance or is it a species seldom collected via bait traps and light traps. I ask this of you specifically because your apparent years of experience "Moth-ing" are second to none AND also because Cara has long been my absolute favorite "pink" species of North American underwing. The sight of an ex-pupa Cara in all it's vivid pink richness is nothing short of breathtaking!!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2014 14:13:04 GMT -8
Leptraps,
Nice catch on the Ascalapha odorata. I have never even seen one. Did it come to one of your light traps or a bait trap?
|
|
|
Post by multicaudata on Jul 4, 2014 22:54:35 GMT -8
Joe, yes it was an amazing trip. Also got Speyeria idalia, diana, and cybele; an aberrant Papilio troilus with not one but TWO orange spots near the leading margin of each hindwing (the beginnings of a polyxenes-like band!); and some glaucus-type striped swallowtails from the Ozarks (given how the striped swallowtail situation has broken wide open in the east recently, I'm hesitant to put a definite species name on any of my specimens from out there!)
I caught my Catocalas at building lights and by tree tapping. A lot of them just flushed around me while I was walking in the woods, apparently having heard me snapping twigs. One parking lot somewhere in Missouri (can't remember where right now) had numerous Catocalas resting on the few parked cars that were still under the street lights at 12:30am! C. epione was by far the most common, giving me repeated "big black butterfly" false alarms during the day and "new Catocala" false alarms at night.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2014 4:24:31 GMT -8
Multicaudata,
Speyeria Diana is quite the little jewel in my opinion. They don't make it over to Southern Illinois (at least that I know of). I sugared the trees in my back yard last night that and ran my light sheet. I collected absolutely nothing! Behind my house is at least 30 acres of woods. I would have bet on it being full of Catocala and maybe it is. The only thing I did last night was provide a buffet for a bunch of carpenter ants. Maybe my luck will change soon.
Joe
|
|
|
Post by multicaudata on Jul 5, 2014 9:05:17 GMT -8
Hi Joe. You should try some tree tapping in your woods -- I've had a lot of success with tapping but never taken a single Catocala at bait, even when I've tried it back east in woods that I knew had them because I found them on nearby building lights. And if you don't find any, I'd say head south!
Yes, S. diana is a jewel, but I wouldn't call it a little jewel! My female measures 2-1/4" forewing length! In flight she reminded me very much of a Morpho.
|
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2014 10:33:15 GMT -8
I would try tree tapping but the woods are not my property. My neighbor owns them and I have not secured permission to go as of yet. I don't think he would care but I am not going until I ask. The weather has been cool here for the first of July. I thinking I may do better when it gets hot.
|
|
|
Post by multicaudata on Jul 5, 2014 18:05:08 GMT -8
You can't just try some other woods nearby? In my limited experience in the east, it's never hard to find some woods that -- even if not clearly permissible -- aren't marked as "No Trespassing" so you can say "I didn't know" if the cops come (which they never do). Although, of course, things may have changed in the several years since I've been anywhere in the east other than the Midwest and FL -- our society excels at generating new rules...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2014 3:48:07 GMT -8
I don't have anything that my neighbor doesn't own close by. Yes generating new rules is something Illinois is great at. Far as trespassing goes they recently passed a new law that doesn't require you to even put up signs. Now all you have to do is spray a dot of purple paint and that's a no trespassing sign. People would tear the signs down and when caught would plead ignorance saying they didn't see a sign. Now it's a little harder to tear a paint dot off a fence post or tree.
|
|
|
Post by beetlehorn on Jul 6, 2014 7:47:20 GMT -8
The woods behind your house are probably full of Catocala's. The thing about baiting, and tapping is you always have the best results when conditions are very hot and dry. I mean no rain for weeks, with temps in the mid to upper 90's! Catocala's come down from the tree canopies and rest on the shady side of trees to keep cool, and when everything dries up, they look for nutrition. I also believe that the scent of fermented fruit carries much better in drier conditions. I often see them at or near baited trees during the day when things get really hot and dry. A few nights ago I was blacklighting and got a rather uncommon species-Catocala serena (not often seen in collections or while collecting for that matter). Don't give up, you'll run across them eventually. Check out my video in the video section-"Tree Tapping for Catocalas"- that was during a very hot and dry spell in July.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2014 7:59:35 GMT -8
Beetlehorn,
I haven't had to worry about hot and dry for awhile around here. It's been so cool and the humidity down so low I haven't ran my AC for the past 4 days. The light sheet activity has come to almost a complete stop. Now I have a new problem. It appears that a raccoon has decided to eat the specimens that come to my sheet. This morning I found muddy paw prints on it and silk moth wings under it. Luna & imperial. I can't win for losing!
|
|
|
Post by rayrard on Jul 6, 2014 20:38:05 GMT -8
I have had some of my pupa emerge in the last few days. All are species I have not collected.
I have
2 Catocala similis (adults) 1 Catocala herodias (adult) 2 Catocala antinympha (pupa)
My Buckmoths are in their final instar and eating everything.
Amazing how leptraps is getting so many species so early! In CT I haven't seen Catocala yet, but someone else has seen Ilia. The "smalls" should be coming out soon.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 8:22:13 GMT -8
Caught another catocala this morning. Racoon missed out.
|
|
leptraps
Banned
Enter your message here...
Posts: 2,397
|
Post by leptraps on Jul 13, 2014 18:54:38 GMT -8
I notice on your listing Leptraps that you have not collected any Catocala cara. Is this species a later summer occurance or is it a species seldom collected via bait traps and light traps. I ask this of you specifically because your apparent years of experience "Moth-ing" are second to none AND also because Cara has long been my absolute favorite "pink" species of North American underwing. The sight of an ex-pupa Cara in all it's vivid pink richness is nothing short of breathtaking!! Catocala cara will be flying when I return home sometime in early August. However, I have been to Black Hills of South Dakota, several counties in eastern Wyoming and have not seen a Catocala moth until last night. I set out two bait traps near Casper, Wyoming. Catocala aholibah Catocala semirelicta Catocala hermia (Will confirm when I get home) However, the best catch to date was a single male of Catocala benjamini (Will confirm when I return home)on the wall of the motel (Hampton Inn) in Rock Springs, WY. I will have all six of my bait traps out tomorrow night in the Ashley NF near Leidy's Peak in Utah. Further, Speyeria are abundant. I stopped at the Red Canyon Rim in Fremont County, Wyoming and collected 100+ Speyeria in about an hour. I know I have six species, both males and females. A new one for me was Speyeria mormonia clio. They were spectacular. I also collected several hair streaks and lots of Coppers. Lyceana rubidus & Chlosyne gorgone is everywhere. My wife took this photograph of Lyceana rubidus next to our car. More later................ _
|
|
leptraps
Banned
Enter your message here...
Posts: 2,397
|
Post by leptraps on Jul 13, 2014 18:57:28 GMT -8
Leptraps,
Nice catch on the Ascalapha odorata. I have never even seen one. Did it come to one of your light traps or a bait trap? came to a Bait Trap. The amazing thing was it came to a slotted pan type Bait Traps. It managed to squeeze through the slot.
|
|