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Post by coloradeo on May 13, 2022 9:23:11 GMT -8
I was looking at these and wondering if I could run my MV lights for more than 45 mins... Does anyone actually have one of these mega-battery packs and have you tried running MV? I keep reading the reviews and it feels like it might not be enough juice to make it a few hours?
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Post by coloradeo on Apr 29, 2022 20:54:06 GMT -8
Thanks for the discussion. I am putting together a 400w MV ballast presently…. Perhaps I’ll continue to focus on that for the coming summer and maybe one day get make the switch.
Eric
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Post by coloradeo on Apr 29, 2022 9:17:40 GMT -8
For years I have followed the articles about LED lights and the best black lights wondering if we’d ever get LEDs as good as the Quantum 368nm tubes that I think people generally agree are the best. I think the 365nm tubes are almost as good as the 368s. Certainly MV is the other dog in the hunt… I saw this LED on Amazon that advertises it’s a 365nm 100w Blacklight. It says (if you select the 365, not the 395) that it produces UV-A, which I think is the hangup on whether these are actually good for moths. The distance the UV-A travels from the light seems to be the important factor, and I’m not sure I’ll know that. I am thinking about getting one to try it out, but I don’t have a UV Meter, so I’m not sure I can have a science based answer to whether these are any good. Anyone with better knowledge want to weigh in as to whether I’ve overlooked something? www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0863HD955/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza?th=1Eric
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Post by coloradeo on Feb 12, 2022 8:16:23 GMT -8
I buy it whenever I find it at Lowes and I use it consistently. I cannot perceive any issues from it, although I am not a chemist nor a professional.
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Post by coloradeo on Dec 28, 2021 22:30:45 GMT -8
Columbia cargo pants work well for me in the West… Light enough but protect me from most everything unless it’s really nasty. Columbia PFG style shirts work well for sweaty days when you need to keep the sun off and the sleeves roll up nicely. I always wear long pants too. Did I mention there’s a Columbia Outlet store in Summit county?
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Post by coloradeo on Oct 29, 2021 17:08:47 GMT -8
If you get it into the LepSoc Season Summary, they get loaded to SCAN-BUGS database (by Chris) so the records can be easily "researched". I use the Scan-Bugs database all the time when planning collecting trips.
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Post by coloradeo on Jul 19, 2021 20:17:45 GMT -8
Nice work Mike. It was great collecting with you earlier this season!
Was happy to collect both Hemileuca hera and Hemileuca eglanterina this week in Summit county and Grand county, respectively.
Eric
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Post by coloradeo on Jul 19, 2021 20:03:48 GMT -8
Had my bait trap out for the past week or so in Colorado. Got my first Catocala ultronia while I was gone for the weekend. Expecting it to pick up in the next 7 days -- that's about when I get a couple species starting up here. Looking forward to a good Catocala season!!! Eric
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Post by coloradeo on Jul 19, 2021 20:01:18 GMT -8
Evan, I collected this week with Matt and it reminded me of the monsoon a few years back when you guided us. Thanks again for the great help! Eric
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Post by coloradeo on Mar 25, 2021 12:04:51 GMT -8
Good suggestions on databases, but just to add... If you're not familiar with the SCAN Database, I checked and there are about 75,000 records for Alaska. Great source for when and where the Leps might be. scan-bugs.org/portal/collections/Eric
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Post by coloradeo on Nov 10, 2020 19:08:40 GMT -8
OK, the annual catocala topic is one of my favorites on this site each year. You all posted some wonderful news on your catches throughout the year and it was fun to see what you were up to. I meant to get a list of my Colorado catocala captures out and am just getting to it as the season is fully wrapped up.
I mostly caught catocala in my backyard this year, with a couple species I got on a trip out to Mesa county on the Western slope in Colorado. I use a slotted pan I bought from Leroy a few years back with fruit bait. I was delighted in that, for whatever reason, this year I added a couple species to those that I catch in my backyard -- I'm up to 11 now. I live in a suburb in between Denver and Boulder, so I guess I'm a little surprised how many catocala I can catch in my backyard at all! I've taken a few up to CSU for help with IDs, so I think I've got these correct, but I'm also convinced catocala ID is a lifelong sport and I'm still building out a correctly identified Colorado series of each for future comparisons.
My favorite catch this year was Catocala nuptialis. It's not a Colorado record according to some of the catocala folks, but it's also not something I can find record of anywhere easily, so it's at least an interesting catch.
I've been catching Catocala amestris in my backyard for a few years. Those were probably county records at least, but I see a few each year reliably now.
Here's my 2020 Colorado List -- all from my backyard, unless noted - Catocala violenta [western slope] - Catocala aholibah [western slope] - Catocala ultronia - Catocala nuptialis - Catocala parta - Catocala amestris - Catocala semirelicta - Catocala junctura - Catocala briseis - Catocala amatrix - Catocala amatrix form “selecta” - Catocala luciana - Catocala meskei (probably) - Catocala hermia (which I'm told is now californica)
Eric
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Post by coloradeo on Nov 10, 2020 18:22:22 GMT -8
Wow, sounds awesome. Thanks for playing this out on the boards so we can learn from your experience in setting this up -- and John's experience doing this over the years. Appreciate you both and the other folks who chimed in. Can't wait to see how it all turns out. Would be a Top 5 item for me someday too.
Eric
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Post by coloradeo on Sept 21, 2020 14:52:55 GMT -8
Mike,
I am always struck at how much you get around in a summer. Impressive trip reports. I end up hitting the same 5 spots every few weeks. Thanks for the inspiration.
I went up to Pawnee Buttes this year a couple weeks after you were there and I missed the Speyeria idalia there. Did you see many? I know there are colonies around that broad area. The only place I've seen S idalia live was on Nature Conservancy land in Southern Minnesota, but it was too fast to get away and I didn't have my camera ready.
Eric
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Post by coloradeo on Sept 19, 2020 5:33:39 GMT -8
I watched it last night. It was fun and being from Colorado, I appreciated the line referencing Erebia magdalena. Eric
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Post by coloradeo on Aug 22, 2020 14:47:01 GMT -8
I decided this year I'd get back to raising a few moths. I was fortunate to get ova from Arachnis picta and Arctia caja utahensis. The caja are first instar and bumping along fine on the romaine lettuce I have always fed tigers. The picta are probably final instar and are just hanging around, large and not eating much. What is your experience with tigers? Should I keep trying to feed them? Will they spin up this fall? Do I need to put some dead leaves in with them? Will they hang out as caterpillars for the winter? They're just not doing much, but I moved them from one enclosure to another today and they're very much alive! Eric
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