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Post by wollastoni on Jun 13, 2011 7:29:29 GMT -8
Very nice ! And very kind principles ! :-)
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Post by thanos on Jun 13, 2011 8:37:44 GMT -8
Dear Jean-Marc,thank you for giving me to understand with this map how close to your house you have both ilia and iris - lucky collector ! Yes,in N.Greece both species (and also A.metis) can be locally common on the right days in their flight period,but only at very suitable habitats. A.iris is very common only at one habitat here(the mixed,almost virgin,paradise forest I mention in my above posts) in early july. But at the other spots that I know,it is never a common butterfly. Also,A.ilia can be locally common at the Salix forest around a lake(which mention above),but I've not found here another spot like this with good population in the right season. Thanos
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Post by thanos on Jun 14, 2011 18:48:41 GMT -8
Just off the board . Thanos Attachments:
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 15, 2011 7:22:53 GMT -8
Dear Thanos,
Poly kalo !
Magnificent samples, just emerged from pupae, I presume.
JMG
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Post by thanos on Jun 15, 2011 7:43:10 GMT -8
Dear Jean-Marc, efharisto ! Yes,only a few specimens had just emerged at this Salix habitat in N.Greece on june 8th,as I mentioned above. Now must be the best days in their flight period(of the first generation) for this late year here. Thanos
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Post by dertodesking on Jun 15, 2011 11:14:50 GMT -8
Just off the board . Thanos Well done on getting these Thanos! They really are a very impressive butterfly and you've done a very nice job setting them. Thanks for sharing the photo. Simon
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Post by thanos on Jun 16, 2011 0:20:02 GMT -8
Thank you Simon ! The best(and easiest) spreading job is done of course when you collect the specimens yourself and they're super fresh and you spread them quickly after colleting.While,when you buy a specimen,even if you are very experienced relaxer/spreader,the result will not be so perfect as it is with the fresh ones which you collect in the field. Thanos
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 16, 2011 4:38:40 GMT -8
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 16, 2011 4:41:41 GMT -8
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 16, 2011 4:50:18 GMT -8
I must confess that 20 minutes before, I left a piece of cheese (Brie de Meaux very old) at the right place : just above the trees where I was presuming the butterfly has his home ( id est his place for checking his territory). As one can see, the Apatura is sucking the cheese juice. I noticed two or three other places alike : I'll go to check these spots (where cheese is already left) as soon the sun comes black ! The problem is that I have no dog and my cat is uncooperative to perform her natural needs in the right places entomological talking! I do agree with Thanos about spreading butterflies : as much as possible, spread them just after the collect ! Attachments:
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Post by thanos on Jun 16, 2011 14:37:28 GMT -8
Dear Jean-Marc,very beautiful male !Great photos!We miss the nominate blue form(iris like) of ilia here. About the one high on the tree of your first photo,it's difficult to say from this angle,but it seems to be a female. I have constructed very tall nets by adapting normal collecting nets to very long fishing sticks -they reach up to 10 meters high on the trees- (Athanasios saw them from me and constructed the same).I have cought females of Apatura iris and Limenitis populi with these tall nets,while they were resting high on the trees !Also some A.ilia high on the Salix trees. I suggest you also to construct a net like this. I,too,saw some very freshly emerged A.paphia males last week,together with the A.ilia f.clytie,at that Salix forest in N.Greece. Next week I will go for Limenitis populi(and maybe A.iris) ! I think that iris will not have emerged yet,as this is a late year here,but that will be a good date for L.populi for this year. Thanos
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 16, 2011 15:38:00 GMT -8
Never seen L. populi flying ! In France, this is a very local butterfly and you must be at the right place at the right moment (the lep flies about a week only). These locations are pretty far from my home and the butterfly emerges when I have a lot of professional work ! Same thing with P. mnemosyne : it flies when I must stand at the University ! I know very well the Athanasios's butterfly net ! I got one alike from BioQuip. This morning, when the Apatura was high in the tree, I had with me only three handles and not the six ! Attachments:
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Post by thanos on Jun 16, 2011 17:07:30 GMT -8
You must see populi flying..! Especially the giant female is the most impressive of all European butterflies - an unforgetable sight when she flies around you close to the forest path ..! No,I didn't mean the old net of Athanasios that the one piece is screwing into the other and you spend a lot of time to screw all the pieces..and the butterfly has left.. ! I mean the new one,which you have to construct by yourself(it's not sold like this by BioQuip or others) : it consists of a long fishing stick,made of hard but light plastic(easy and practical to handle when the stick is spread and you reach the butterfly high on the tree to catch it),which has 7-8 pieces which are the one inside the other,and when you see the butterfly sitting high on a tree,you don't spend time,but you have just to spread the fishing stick(to put each piece out of the other),and your net is ready(and 10 meters long)within a few seconds .. ! On the last piece of the fishing stick,there is permanently adapted a net(you have to buy a fishing stick like this,and to adapt a net by yourself at the edge of the last piece of the stick: I've done it with bolds). Thanos
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Post by thanos on Jun 16, 2011 19:16:05 GMT -8
For L.populi,you're right about the flight period,it's very short,and you can easily miss it with bad weather(this happened to me in 2009). You can still find in early july a few males,but worn ones,but you can find fresh female.
Thanos
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Post by nomihoudai on Jun 16, 2011 23:49:21 GMT -8
Here you can buy one carbon handle of 5 m length : www.insectnet.eu/field_equipment.phpPersonally I am not too happy with them because carbon handles do tend to break at the tip once you hit a tree or a rock with it. Also they are not anger safe for me when I miss butterflies. I had such a net and then I missed the white form of Colias croceus female in my country because the head was damaged, I repaired it but then it broke again when I saw my very first Charaxes jasius ever, then I was already angry and after tha tI missed 1 Papilio machaon and 1 minute after a Polygonia egea that I also saw the first time ever, I took the net and I broke the net ring and I broke the handle in three pieces with my knee. ( After that I glued every piece together again because I still wanted to collect the day after ) Now I got a solid aluminium rod and so far I have never gotten angry enough to be able to bend it
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