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Post by saturniidave on Jan 25, 2011 17:27:55 GMT -8
It never ceases to amaze me how some people post a tiny photo of a tiny insect or a really blurred, out of focus one and then get annoyed when we can't identify it.l Sorry but miracles are not our thing! BTW I am a moderator on a shell website and we get exactly the same thing. An out of focus shot of a very eroded piece of shell and they expect us to come up with a name. Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 25, 2011 9:28:30 GMT -8
I made a bunch of them for sale last year. Never thought to break off the legs! I use PVA glue for everything but I do not glue a whole sheet of plastazote to the back, I make a nice background and then glue tiny cubes of plastazote in the positions I want the bugs to go then glue the bug pins into those. I make them small enough to not be seen but large enough to hold the bug. The actual cases were made from scratch by my brother but we have been looking at buying cheap photo frames from the 99p store and modifying them by making them deeper as the most expensive thing to buy here is the glass. Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 24, 2011 19:20:13 GMT -8
To my uninitiated eye it looks like a Vine Weevil, a common pest species of potted plants. They live as white grubs feeding on the roots. Unpot one of your plants and see if there are any still feeding, if so apply a systemic insecticide. Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 24, 2011 10:55:04 GMT -8
I see Thierry. But if it is leading to such confusion as I mentioned would it not be better to not show the 'public pages' of photos at all until all is sorted? I have used the BOLD pages myself for a few species but others are so confused it is impossible. I have also sent material there. I look forward to one day being able to identify such genera as Bunaeopsis, Pseudobunaea and others to identify the many unidentified ones I have in my collection, I don't think D'Abrera is ever going to finish the Saturniidae Mundi series so what are we to do meantime? Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 24, 2011 10:38:03 GMT -8
Looks like it was a great do Clark. It is a shame you can't add any captions to the photos, it would be nice to know who is who. There was a Salassa there, any chance of a name or data? I am studying this genus at the moment. Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 23, 2011 9:07:37 GMT -8
Thierry I am sure Barcoding is helping sort out taxonomy, but when you look at the BOLD website and see how many species represented there are synonyms of others, how some pages show obvious cases of more than one species, and some species, such as jamesoni and alcestris, are listed under Gonimbrasia AND Nudaurelia it just confuses the matter even more. I would have thought that the barcoding would show where species are different or the same, so why are these cases still displayed on the BOLD pages? Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 22, 2011 17:40:16 GMT -8
John, it is very confusing and depends which book you read! The latest as far as I can work out is that they are genus Saturnia, subgenus Rinaca. When I first started in Saturniidae they were all Dictyoploca! It seems that the Genus Saturnia now includes Rinaca, Callosaturnia, Eriogyna and Neoris as subgenera. Not sure I entirely agree with this but it has been decreed by greater minds than mine! It is just as confusing as the African Emperors, I can never work out which are Imbrasia, Gonimbrasia or Nudaurelia. Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 22, 2011 10:21:43 GMT -8
New one on me John, do you know the author and date? Nice specimen though! Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 22, 2011 10:20:44 GMT -8
Nice ones John! I actually know Ian Kitching! Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 22, 2011 10:19:55 GMT -8
Superb specimen John. Do you have someone collecting in the Molluccas for you? Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 22, 2011 10:19:04 GMT -8
Certainly one I will never be able to afford. Well done Alberto!
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 22, 2011 10:12:20 GMT -8
Adam, I would have thought you would be the most experienced with Leps in general having actually lived there for several years even though you are a (very good) Papilio man!. How is the eye coming on by the way? And the baby? Cheers, Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 22, 2011 6:25:13 GMT -8
Hey Ben, you should talk to Adam Cotton, he lives in Chiang Mai. he can advise you better than anyone. BTW, remember me for any spare Saturniids! Dave
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BUG ID
Jan 20, 2011 16:37:35 GMT -8
Post by saturniidave on Jan 20, 2011 16:37:35 GMT -8
Proflek, I think this may be a pupa of one of the Processionary Moths (Thaumatopoeidae). I have heard that they pupate communally inside a large loose cocoon. If it is it will need to overwinter outside in the cold (but not too cold!) An outside frostproof shed will do nicely. Dave
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Post by saturniidave on Jan 19, 2011 8:34:42 GMT -8
I agree, make them smaller. They are downloading for me but I waited nearly 5 minutes for them to do so! Dave
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