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Post by garin33 on Sept 4, 2015 14:52:55 GMT -8
Hello Everyone,
I was wondering if any of you southern Arizona beetle collectors could possibly give me some assistance on finding any of the Phanaeus species of dung beetles in southern Arizona.
When I was kid, 30 plus years ago, I would collect in Madera Canyon and Pena Blanca and I would occasionally find a Phanaeus Quadridens. I stopped collecting for the last 30 years and just started again a few years ago because my son became interested. Phanaeus was always one of my favorite beetles so when we would travel to southern arizona the last few years we would always look for them. By setting pitfall traps, we were able to catch many Canthon imitator and Canthon indigaceus. We have also observed many Dichotomius colonicus at the black light but no Phanaeus. We have searched in the areas of Rio Rico, Pena Blanca, Madera Canyon.
I have searched the net for hours and hours I have seen reports about Phanaeus in Rio Rico and other general areas of southern Arizona but no specifics.
The few collectors I do know, they have not any seen any Phanaeus in the last few years. However, they have not flipped cow pies or set pitfall traps. They are usually focused on other species. Did Phanaeus go into hiding the last few years?
So I was wondering if there are any collectors that have specifically targeted Phanaeus in southern arizona in the last few years and would be willing to share an exact location and tips. I am willing to share anything I catch on my trips to Arizona that you may be interested in like Megasoma Punctulatus, Dynastes Granti, Strategus Aloeus, Chrysinas, etc. or any knowledge that could be helpful for you.
Feel free to Private message me if you are more comfortable with sharing information that way.
Thank you in advance for any helpful information. Much appreciated.
Garin
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Post by megagyas on Sept 6, 2015 22:21:45 GMT -8
Back in the 1990's I collected with friends in Southern Arizona during monsoon seasons in July and stayed in a place called the Triangle T Ranch in Texas Canyon (near I-10). It has since been sold, and I'm not certain what the ranch has become. We would make nightly trips to other areas nearby- Madera Canyon, Mule Mountains, Pena Blanca, etc. The Triangle T ranch had horses for visitors to ride which were kept in a small corral on the property. Early one morning ( temp. about 90 and rising quickly), we noticed rather large beetles flying about the horse manure in the corral and diving down to bury themselves. We used long-handled forceps to poke through the horse manure and we found dozens of the purple form of P. quadridens in this fashion. We also captured many Omus in pitfall traps around the Triangle T and although nearly killing ourselves falling over the huge boulders found on the ranch, managed to catch about 50 specimens of the beautiful Crioprosopus magnificus that emerge from the Texas Live Oaks when the time arrives for that year's brood to appear. It's fun to watch them loft about over the rocks with their banded antennae outstretched- but very hard to catch since one is constantly running into boulders if not careful. Hope this helps! HR
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Post by garin33 on Sept 7, 2015 10:44:40 GMT -8
Thanks HR for sharing that info. Really interesting and helpful. I have heard that Texas Canyon and the Dragoons are good for Amblycheila Baroni but did not know there was also Omus out there, as well as P. quadridens. Hopefully I will be able to check it out next year. Seems like a really interesting area with those huge rock croppings.
Have you gone back to Arizona recently?
Thanks,
Garin
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Post by bandrow on Sept 7, 2015 16:41:50 GMT -8
Greetings, I suspect that 'megagyas' was referring to Amblycheila baroni - it can be fairly common in the Dragoons - and there are no Omus there. Oddly, that is the only locality where I've taken the blue form of Phanaeus quadridens as well. I checked into staying at the Triangle 'T' Guest Ranch a couple of years ago, and it's still in operation. I was there in the 1990's and collecting was great. It has been remodeled and "civilized" quite a bit - and the new nightly rates reflect that  But the folks I talked to on the phone at the time were receptive to collecting on the property, which is good. Search the web for the ranch name and you'll easily find their website. I'd highly recommend the Triangle T as a base camp - great collecting right in the area as well as east access to most of the rest of the SE Arizona hotspots. Cheers! Bandrow |
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Post by garin33 on Sept 7, 2015 18:51:35 GMT -8
Great info regarding the Triangle T Guest Ranch. I will definitely check that out. The blue form of P. quadridens is awesome and I have yet to see one "live". That would be a great find.
Thanks,
Garin
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Post by megagyas on Sept 8, 2015 0:32:23 GMT -8
Bob is correct- all of my specimens of flightless tiger beetles that were collected in the Triangle T were A. baroni. All of my other species are from Texas. I have not been back to that area since the 1990's, but next on the agenda is Malawi. You will have fun simply experiencing the uniqueness of the rock formations of Texas Canyon- I also had good luck at that time of year collecting Proserpinus terlooii- a beautiful small green sphingid whose colors are difficult to preserve. HR
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Post by garin33 on Sept 8, 2015 8:08:07 GMT -8
Wow, sounds like you guys did really well that year. Thanks for sharing that information.
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Post by joee30 on Sept 8, 2015 12:05:51 GMT -8
You can also score some Phaneus vindex down there too. Found a couple drowned in water troughs near Madera Canyon many years ago.
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Post by garin33 on Sept 8, 2015 12:23:17 GMT -8
Hi Joee,
Thanks for that information. It's very uncommon to find P vindex down in southern Arizona so that's a great find! An Entomologist named Larry Reeves posted on twitter that last month he caught P. Amithaon in the Rio Rico area and he said it was the rarest of the Phanaeus species in the US.
Have any of you caught P. Amithaon?
Thanks for your post.
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w1
Full Member
Have had a great start to my season
Posts: 123
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Post by w1 on Sept 9, 2015 16:27:45 GMT -8
I've found one P. amitheon in that region while chasing Asilidae. Eat the local food it'll provide excellent bait.
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Post by joee30 on Sept 13, 2015 16:38:45 GMT -8
Never found amythaon, but went to a couple of localities that one friend collected a couple at. Never found them.
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Post by garin33 on Sept 15, 2015 21:45:17 GMT -8
I've found one P. amitheon in that region while chasing Asilidae. Eat the local food it'll provide excellent bait. That's great and gives me hope. Going to try again next year. ha, the local food that good huh? |
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Post by 58chevy on Sept 20, 2015 16:59:56 GMT -8
There is an elderly man named Dave Marqua who has been studying Phanaeus for decades. If anybody knows where to find them, it's him. The problem is finding Dave Marqua. I think he lives somewhere in west Texas. He donated his extensive collection to Texas A&M university. You might be able to get his contact info through their entomology department.
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Post by Dany on Oct 5, 2015 9:22:44 GMT -8
we noticed rather large beetles flying about the horse manure in the corral and diving down to bury themselves. We used long-handled forceps to poke through the horse manure and we found dozens of the purple form of P. quadridens in this fashion. Wow! Can you show us any purple form of P. quadridens? I love Phanaeus :-) |
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Post by garin33 on Oct 7, 2015 14:29:18 GMT -8
we noticed rather large beetles flying about the horse manure in the corral and diving down to bury themselves. We used long-handled forceps to poke through the horse manure and we found dozens of the purple form of P. quadridens in this fashion. Wow! Can you show us any purple form of P. quadridens? I love Phanaeus :-)  |
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But the folks I talked to on the phone at the time were receptive to collecting on the property, which is good. Search the web for the ranch name and you'll easily find their website.
