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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 21, 2012 7:42:57 GMT -8
I feel your pain with these storms. It seems like as soon as the moon started rising late enough to not interfere, it started raining every night.
I am up to 6 D. tityus now, one male and the rest females. I have seen a lot more than that squashed in the parking lot of the gas station that I pick over often though. I am also attempting to raise regalis. Several have died, but I still have around a dozen feeding and eight more eggs looking like they will hatch any moment now. I don't have a sleeve to use yet, so I am running out to the sweetgum trees each day to pick fresh leaves for them. I should have some tulip tree moths and some luna hatching soon as well. Last night was the first time in a couple of weeks that I have seen an imperial moth. It was a male though and I already have plenty of those. I want two more, one for collecting and the other for eggs.
Well, here's hoping for a better night tonight!
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 21, 2012 2:09:02 GMT -8
Well, I put my ugly mug in front of the camera and rambled on about lightsheeting. I am almost embarrassed to post it with my rambling and horrible camera work, but until someone more adept than I am steps up my little vid should suffice.
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 20, 2012 23:45:23 GMT -8
Thanks for the help, I had about given up on getting an id for the big guy.
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 19, 2012 22:46:58 GMT -8
I am not sure what a "subterminal line" is, but it is supposed to be wavy on a pandorus and scalloped on an intermedia. Would that be outer edge of the forewing? I took as close of an image as I could get of that area to see if it will help with the id. Attachments:
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 19, 2012 22:16:09 GMT -8
I just collected this guy about a half an hour ago. It looks a lot like the Eumorpha intermedia that I collected last year. They really shouldn't be this far inland though and the one I caught before I wrote off as being a fluke occurrence, probably a stray blown in by the coastal storms that had hit not long before I caught it. Have I caught another stray, or is it just a very heavily worn pandorus? Attachments:
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 18, 2012 8:29:58 GMT -8
There are more hatching out today so I decided to experiment with my cheap Kodak EasyShare to see if I could get a decent shot. There is good detail on the spines, but the body is out of focus. Attachments:
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 17, 2012 14:06:34 GMT -8
Adorable child! I never knew that some cicadas came from beetles. I have been seeing a ton of cicadas at my sheet lately. I was amused by them at first, but as their numbers increased, I began to be annoyed by them. They keep up a lot of racket beating their wings against the sheet and the occasional male hollering when it gets stuck in the grass or something. They tend to be so loud that I cannot listen for the subtle thud of the large beetles when they land nearby. Keep teaching that child. He has a good head on his shoulders. Rev. R. Farrier
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 17, 2012 13:43:50 GMT -8
Well, I got some more hatchlings. This time it is regalis. I had failures with my tulip tree moths and my imperial moths, but I have done more research and think I discovered where I went wrong. I am hoping I can get these to survive. Two of the three that were laid on the first day hatched this afternoon. I still have a few from the second night and the third night so I should have a number of these to work with. I have tons of pecan on my property and there is a lot of sweetgum in my back field where I collect, so food is readily available. Hopefully, third time is the charm as the cliche goes. Attachments:
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 15, 2012 19:20:05 GMT -8
Thanks for the assist, Bandrow! Now if I can just find a male Lucanus...
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 15, 2012 15:15:05 GMT -8
A good soak in acetone or even rubbing alcohol should do the trick. I have used both. The acetone works wonders on D. tityus though the alcohol should work in a pinch.
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 15, 2012 5:56:15 GMT -8
If I caught a rattler like that, I would not be calling it friend; dinner, hatband, and keychains from the head and rattles, yes, but friend, no. lol
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 14, 2012 20:48:14 GMT -8
I would also like an i.d. on the hostplant as well if possible. Attachments:
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 14, 2012 20:47:20 GMT -8
Found this on a plant on my way back from the lightsheet tonight. It has a length of about 48mm. Attachments:
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 14, 2012 19:40:37 GMT -8
Thanks for the help Thanos. It kind of threw me finding a water beetle with no body of water within a couple of miles. You are welcome to move on down here with us Clark. There is plenty of woodland and open areas to collect in. If you find you a place around here, you can do a ton of collecting in your own back yard. That is where I find 99% of what I gather, like the stag I found tonight. I think it is either a female Lucanus capreolus or elaphus, I am not sure which. I measured her at 34mm. Attachments:
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Jul 14, 2012 19:19:37 GMT -8
I find myself stepping very gingerly these days, pausing to shine the flashlight and inspect the ground each place I plan to step. The grass is very thick at my setup (it stays in one spot until I can afford to get a setup that doesn't need an extension cord running from my house) so I have to be extra careful. The P. truncatus was so deep under the grass that even kneeling down with my light shining directly on the spot, I saw nothing until I dug under the grass. I went to check a gas station near my house the past two nights. I found three new beetles that I didn't know about. Had I gotten there a little sooner, I would have had another male D. tityus. The carnage was fresh, it looked like it happened just minutes before I arrived. At least it wasn't my boot this time!
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