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Post by nomihoudai on Jun 7, 2011 1:50:43 GMT -8
Hi! I am currently making a mapping programm for my country where I put all Rhopalocera inside. I have never seen in my young life so far an Apatura sp. but I got fortunately reported of two places where they should fly and I wanted to visit them this weekend. Therefore I wanted to ask if anyone of the more experienced collectors could share a recipe for a baiting trap for Apatura ilia as I wanted to attract as many specimen of them as possible.
Rgds and thanks for any help, Claude
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Post by wollastoni on Jun 7, 2011 2:29:34 GMT -8
I have heard from Jean-Marc that old French cheeses work good. (camembert, munster...).
You should find them easily in Luxembourg.
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Post by nomihoudai on Jun 7, 2011 2:46:06 GMT -8
Should I let the cheese rot a little bit or will fresh cheese do it ? Getting good Camambert and Munster is no problem, I always make a large bow around the cheese section in super market as it smells horrible  |
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 7, 2011 5:49:55 GMT -8
Hi ! Many records these last two or three weeks in France state that this Spring 2011 Apatura iris and Apatura ilia are very numerous. Former years, in northern France they were appearing end of June. Same thing for Ladoga ( Limenitis) camilla. This is an extraordinary year ! To-morrow, I'll be in my country side and I'll check all the Apatura spots I know, then I'll able to write as a direct witness.  Regarding the baits to attract both Apatura, it's obvious that carnivorous (dog, human) dungs are the best (see picture 1 : A. iris on dog dung) ! Urine is not so bad. Crossing by these spots I was telling about, I use to piss in the morning and come back one hour later. It's interesting to note that from year to year, it's always exactly the same place (pictures : A. iris 2 and A. ilia).  Attachments:
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 7, 2011 5:53:03 GMT -8
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 7, 2011 5:55:03 GMT -8
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Post by nomihoudai on Jun 7, 2011 6:03:34 GMT -8
Then maybe it is time for me to take an empty bottle and ...  Yes it must be a numerous species this year as I got pictures reported by people that have not much a clue about butterflies, but they saw them even on different spots in the country ! Limenitis camilla has also been reported early and in big numbers in Germany. I thank you for your tips. |
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 7, 2011 6:05:44 GMT -8
See the spots map for Apatura iris and A. ilia : mainly forest or forest edges. If you wish to use a trap, the best bait for these butterflies is definitely the cheese (hard fromage like Maroilles, Munster, Epoisses, Camembert or even Livarot) that must be aged (but no dryer) for a while (depending on weather conditions). Another good bait: shrimp very rotten (which also give good results for Morphos in the Andes). The problem is that manipulation of rotten shrimp is somewhat tricky (smell) and cause you to pass in the eyes of your friends and neighbors for a terrorist producing weapons of mass destruction!   Note that the conservation of rotten shrimp in a bottle (plastic bottle kind of mineral water) must take account of fermentation! If the recipent is overfilled, it may explode! In this case, with rotten shrimp is almost hell! Attachments:
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 7, 2011 6:23:25 GMT -8
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 7, 2011 6:27:23 GMT -8
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Post by nomihoudai on Jun 7, 2011 6:49:22 GMT -8
I think they want to go after salt and minerals ? So maybe I should try and rott some shrimps and add a whole package of salt to it ? Or add 100g of salt to each of my bottles ? What do you think about it ?
Furthermore I know the smell of rotten shrimps, it's horrible. I did catch some beetles with rotten shrimps but honestly, I had to throw them away later. I couldn't bear the smell of the specimen...
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 7, 2011 6:51:24 GMT -8
 Of course, one may recall that Apatura (like many tropical Charaxinae) love to suck the sap of certain trees. For this Apatura ilia yunnana, this is a weeping willow tree in front of the entrance to the village of Shaxi. So it's very profitable, on the occasion to incise a few centimeters of the bark of a tree like that. We come back twenty minutes later .... Attachments:
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 7, 2011 6:53:36 GMT -8
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 7, 2011 7:03:40 GMT -8
"and add a whole package of salt to it"  This question is beyond my skills! I'm not sure this is only the sodium chloride which attracts butterflies (although I saw Trogonoptera jordana pump sea water on a beach in Palawan). www.lepido-france.fr/2010/11/greenviews-resort-a-palawan/I tend to think that it is more often the carbonate-rich waters that attract them (hence, for example, the exceptional density of butterflies around the river Bantimurung in Sulawesi: after a karst topography, this water is very carbonated). www.lepido-france.fr/2010/01/le-cauchemar-de-wallace-bantimurung/These are just impressions. Should be on this question for biologists. That said, I never heard that the addition of NaCl is recommended in preparing the bait. It is true that many butterflies are attracted to human sweat, which is salted with sodium chloride! As for the amount of salt to add to the bait, I have no idea. Likely that too much salt would be repulsive? I do not know! Sorry ! I guess that on this forum there would be many lepidopterists with a more acurate idea on the matter. |
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Post by maliciousinchworm on Jun 7, 2011 11:15:29 GMT -8
@ Jean-Marc,
Leaving aside possible baits for Apatura (I have used vinegar with good results and rotten fish has been reported to work well) and not wanting to distract people from the topic proposed by Claude, I would like to ask you for some Apatura from France. I ask every year for them in the insect ads, specially for Apatura iris, as I´m trying to gather material for a morphometric (and maybe genetic) study, I want specimens to compare with the Spanish ones, where there may be more than a ssp.. I just would enjoy them to be in A1 as I will include in my private collection as well, and come with accurate coordinates and not sacrified with chemicals. If possible, throw me a post in my private box or contact me via e-mail (AlejandroALCam'at'gmail.com), thanks in advance.
Another thing, its extremely soon for this lep to fly now, I always get the first examples in early July, I think my earliest record is on 3rd July.
Regards,
Alejandro A.
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