Collecting on Roatan island, Honduras

[Deleted]

I'm off to roatan on the 23rd of december for three weeks. Not sure what to find there or the regulations regarding posting out specimens. Does anyone know what i may find there in the way of butterlies and beetles? I know M. elephas is there, not sure if D.hercules breeds there. ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED
PETE

[colon]

hi pete

Roatan is very popular and populated with many resorts. Collection on that island in the group is thus limited.
Collection on Utila is better, as it is less populated, and on Guanaja, (especially the west coast) is even better as it is even less populated.

The best collection in that area I found to be in the cloud forests , just west of La Ceiba

I have been there a few times over the years

Colon

[Deleted]

many thanks for the info. I'm sure i'll be able to get some kind of boat ride out there.
regards
peter

[jshuey]

Never been there but here’s some speculation and potential advice. FYI - There is one potential endemic that I’m aware of – a skipper - Epargyreus clavicornis gaumeri. Or it might just be poorly known on the mainland.

You are entering the dry season in Central America. I have no idea how it will play out at that particular location, but collectors taking winter holidays to the region generally come home with few bugs. Many of the costal, open habitat bugs will probably be common, Anartia, Junonia, Eurema and so on. But many of the more interesting forest species night be scarce – things like Prepona, Archeoprepona, Anea or Memphis may be absent or present only as really beat up diapausing adults. I don’t know – but I would not set really high expectations. The flip side is that beetles at lights are often fairly abundant at the beginning of the dry season.

I'd try and get up onto the central ridge just to enter different habitats, and perhaps a bit more moisture!

I’ll be interested to hear what you encounter – the islands are pretty far from the mainland and pretty small – so they will have a limited fauna compared to similar habitats in Honduras proper.

John