evra
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Post by evra on Nov 19, 2021 14:03:29 GMT -8
In Arizona H. chrysalus is really hard to collect. Usually you can see them up at the top of the Gambel’s oaks attacking each other and other butterflies, but rarely do they come down low enough to net.
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evra
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Post by evra on Nov 10, 2021 15:00:40 GMT -8
They are more of targets for western collectors because the diversity is highest in the Southwest. Although some like maia and nevadensis feed on oak and willows, and a few others can be reared on cherry, most feed on odd little bushes that grow in very remote areas. The larvae grow slowly, have stinging spines, and are both parasitoid and disease prone. Most fly at very specific times in the fall, so frequently it is a 200-300 mile drive one way to a spot where they fly, and usually they are the only thing to find at that spot during that time. They also undergo big population swings, so you can do everything right and you still might not find any for 2-3 years if you are in the middle of a population crash.
I’ve collected a lot of them, and reared H. electra, and I don’t consider any of them to be easy.
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evra
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Post by evra on Nov 10, 2021 8:59:40 GMT -8
All of the Hemileucas are like that. You can drive for hours through what seems to be perfect habitat loaded with host plant and not see anything. Then you get to a specific spot that looks the same and they are everywhere. You are much more likely to see males than females, and the males of most species fly between 10 AM - 12 PM, so you have to get out in the field fairly early.
Feeding damage to oaks isn’t really evidence of their presence as many species of Lepidoptera and non-Lepidoptera likely feed on it. You would have to find the larvae in the spring to know for sure.
They are also really really hard to net on the wing. They fly very fast and erratically.
For these reasons, none of the Hemileucas are easy to get and they are all sought-after trophy species by collectors.
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evra
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Post by evra on Oct 16, 2021 19:23:10 GMT -8
The 3 Arizona Sphingicampas are S. hubbardi, S. montana, and S. raspa. S. hubbardi is a mesquite feeder and is the most widespread of the 3, and pretty common. S. montana feeds on velvet pod mimosa and is the most common of the 3 where the host plant grows in abundance, especially in the Atascosa, Baboquivari, and Tumacacori Mtns. S. raspa feeds on prairie acacia and is the rarest, but isn’t rare. It seems to be confined to the Huachuca, Patagonia, and southern Santa Rita Mtns.
Most years I’ll have anywhere between dozens and hundreds of Sphingicampas on the sheet every night in the monsoon season. This year was kind of an exception though. S. hubbardi was around but I only saw a couple montana and no raspa.
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evra
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Post by evra on Oct 8, 2021 20:50:49 GMT -8
They stray north out of southern Florida and Mexico. You can’t really seek out a stray, you just have to get lucky. The farther south you go the more common they become. I’ve had at least 1 at my lights almost every night this year in southern AZ.
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evra
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Post by evra on Sept 30, 2021 11:19:36 GMT -8
I think it’s a male L. maculata.
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evra
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Post by evra on Sept 22, 2021 10:37:14 GMT -8
In the White mountains of AZ in August. It’s a fairly common species in the Huachucas, Peloncillos, and especially the Chiricahuas. Also in the White mountains in spots. They are also in the Santa Ritas, Dragoons, and elsewhere but are rarer.
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evra
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Post by evra on Sept 22, 2021 9:25:42 GMT -8
I reared a lot of them one year after collecting 3 females at lights. Like other Pericopinae their cocoon is more like a spider web which they pupate in. The interesting thing is that the pupa in the web is covered in poisonous spines and one of them stung me badly, like a Hemileuca larva. The Gnophaelas that I reared had a similar web-like cocoon, but the pupae were harmless.
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evra
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Post by evra on Sept 13, 2021 12:28:51 GMT -8
Hemileuca burnsi is the only one left that I don’t have, but I’ve also never tried it get it either. Something has always come up or I’ve opted to go for a different Hemileuca or something else during their flight season. Hopefully in about 2 weeks I can change that.
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evra
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Post by evra on Sept 12, 2021 15:46:43 GMT -8
Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’m still working on the other Saturniids that I actually know are in AZ. I only have 1 more to go. You can hike into Guadalupe Canyon but a rancher gated off the road so you can’t drive a generator and lights in there. The same is true with Skeleton Canyon.
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evra
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Post by evra on Sept 9, 2021 22:14:00 GMT -8
The one record is from Guadalupe Canyon which is in the extreme SE corner of AZ. That spot has been gated off for about 15 years now. I keep an eye out for A. isara when I collect Automeris randa in that mountain range but I’ve never seen it. The Peloncillos are rarely collected and are remote and not easily accessible, so it’s hard to say whether they are actually there or it was simply a stray.
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evra
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Post by evra on Aug 29, 2021 18:34:19 GMT -8
It was pretty bad, which was what I and most other people expected. Saturniids, Sphingids, Arctiids and Notodontids were in very low numbers and diversity. The plus side is that the summer monsoon season has been the strongest ever recorded, with most areas south and east of Tucson getting between 12-20” of rain. This has caused an absolute explosion in butterflies that have influxed from Mexico and stimulated large amounts of vegetation, so there are huge numbers of a lot of different larvae, which means that next year will likely be a banner year.
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evra
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Post by evra on Aug 6, 2021 11:29:54 GMT -8
I generally don’t rear unless I have to. Certain species are so rare at lights that it takes a very long time to accumulate a series otherwise. Most of these are Sphingids, Arctiids, and Hemileucas though. A lot of the Saturniids in SE AZ are kind of junk species so I only reared E. oslari, C. splendens, A. oculea, and a few others only once. Most of the time I either don’t collect them or if they are dead in traps, I just discard them. Personally I would much rather have a nice, but not necessarily perfect, wild caught specimen with full data than an ex-pupa bred specimen.
I was using kind of a crappy oak to rear E. oslari on, Quercus virginiana, which may have had something to do with it. The last instar larvae on the oak were a dark burgundy, whereas the ones on Brazilian pepper tree ended up being tan.
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evra
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Post by evra on Aug 6, 2021 8:51:49 GMT -8
I’ve reared them on oak before and they didn’t do well at all. I would recommend using something else.
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evra
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Post by evra on Jul 30, 2021 8:54:21 GMT -8
Yeah both of those work as bulbs. You have to match the power requirements. So the 400w bulb needs a 400w ballast. The 1000w needs a 1000w ballast. Both require a mogul socket, which is not the common lightbulb standard you are probably used to. Something like this: www.1000bulbs.com/product/171742/CL-10008.htmlPretty much all MV bulbs bigger than 175w require this kind of socket, although there are a few rare exceptions.
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