Satyrs

[mothman27]

What is the main method for collecting satyr butterflies? I have only gotten L. eurydice in bait traps and M. cymela flying at edges of forests.

Tim

[nomihoudai]

A net? Lol. They are slow flyers and usually close to the ground, so where is the trouble? Catch all the Megisto cymela and see if there is another species among them. Cyllopsis gemma likes to fly among them and looks definitely better than M. cymela. If you want more diversity on these you might have to head off to the mountains. In Europe we have Erebia in the Alps, it is always fun and a delight to just head to a mountain and find swarms of these, usually more than three species mixed together.

[cabintom]

Once you have an idea of the habits/habitat of the particular species you're looking for it gets easier. Around here, I find Satyridae practically everywhere. Some prefer flying in the tall savanna grasses and can very easily be found along paths. Others stick to the shade of the forest but readily come to banana bait.

[Deleted]

Put a bait trap on the edge of the woods. As mentioned in above posts they are slow fliers. They have a odd bouncy flight and given their cryptic coloration along with the areas of light and dark on wooded edges they fly in to me they aren't that easy to net. Way easier to use trap

[exoticimports]

Go to the edge of the forest. Light cigarette. Whack satyrids with flyswatter as they go by. Trapping satyrids is like trapping p. rapae.

Chuck

[jhyatt]

I generally have good luck bait-trapping cymela, pegala, sosybius, Lethe (appalachia, portlandia, anthedon, creola), etc. My luck netting them is dismal - they always fly as if they're on the verge of landing, and I wait for that to happen - but they never do! Eventually I lose them in the undergrowth. I've never been able to bait-trap Erebia or Oeneis, though - have to net them. If you are not trapping many, your trap must be in the wrong place. Try some other edge-of-woods situation, trap about head-high.

[nomihoudai]

Erebia comes to sweat. They don't come to fruits, why would they come to fruits? There is no fruits in their habitat

Some Lycaenidae have kind of the same flight pattern than Satyrinae, so I am netting a lot of the latter before finding what I am after.

[mothman27]

The thing is, I don't see many satyrs flying around. When I do, they are all cymela. I never saw L. eurydice until I got it in my trap.

[leptraps]

If I remember correctly, you are in Northen Indiana. You should find Enodia anthedon and Cercyonis pegala. Both should come to your trap. Bananas and Apple's work well.

I have taken a number of Erebia above the tree line in Colorado in bait traps with blue berry's and urine. Light on the urine. The problem with bait traps above the tree line is the lack of trees to hang baits traps in. And then there are those pesky Marmonts. They eat the bait and floss with the screen. However, I will be above the tree line on Saturday. I am on my way to,South Dakota around 4AM.

[timmsyrj]

Jun 28, 2016 18:22:44 GMT -8 leptraps said:

If I remember correctly, you are in Northen Indiana. You should find Enodia anthedon and Cercyonis pegala. Both should come to your trap. Bananas and Apple's work well.

I have taken a number of Erebia above the tree line in Colorado in bait traps with blue berry's and urine. Light on the urine. The problem with bait traps above the tree line is the lack of trees to hang baits traps in. And then there are those pesky Marmonts. They eat the bait and floss with the screen. However, I will be above the tree line on Saturday. I am on my way to,South Dakota around 4AM.

Pack plenty of "waffles" I bet there's not many "waffle houses" above the tree line !

I've always netted satyridae, almost always around damp, shady woodland edges or semi wooded paths etc, Coenonympha and Melanargia in more open grassy places and Erebia amongst small trees with plenty of grasses, the hardest though are those that fly on the screes above the tree line with very little grass or flowers, you need to watch hour footing and the butterfly or the latter flies off whilst you slide or roll (on occasion) down the shingle slope whilst your collecting buddy laughs..

Rich

[jshuey]

Jun 28, 2016 9:58:04 GMT -8 mothman27 said:

The thing is, I don't see many satyrs flying around. When I do, they are all cymela. I never saw L. eurydice until I got it in my trap.

You should look pretty closely at your eurydice. They are probably S. appalachia which comes to bait more readily. Also, unless you are trapping out in the middle of a wetland you are not likely to see eurydice (open sedge meadow is the habitat for Eurydice). S. appalachia is in shaded wetlands and swamps, and is more likely to be encountered.

john

[jhyatt]

Jun 28, 2016 6:04:23 GMT -8 nomihoudai said:

Erebia comes to sweat. They don't come to fruits, why would they come to fruits? There is no fruits in their habitat

Some Lycaenidae have kind of the same flight pattern than Satyrinae, so I am netting a lot of the latter before finding what I am after.

Interesting that Erebias come to sweat. I guess I never manage to work up a sweat in that chilly, dry  Erebia habitat! 
Cheers,
jh

[miguel]

I have collected Brintesia and Hipparchias that stopped in my socks.

[mothman27]

Jun 29, 2016 5:48:00 GMT -8 jshuey said:

Jun 28, 2016 9:58:04 GMT -8 mothman27 said:

The thing is, I don't see many satyrs flying around. When I do, they are all cymela. I never saw L. eurydice until I got it in my trap.

You should look pretty closely at your eurydice. They are probably S. appalachia which comes to bait more readily. Also, unless you are trapping out in the middle of a wetland you are not likely to see eurydice (open sedge meadow is the habitat for Eurydice). S. appalachia is in shaded wetlands and swamps, and is more likely to be encountered.

john

You are correct, they are appalachia. I got an Enodia anthedon yesterday.