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Post by lucanidae25 on Sept 6, 2011 23:38:47 GMT -8
Could any one ID these 2 females Actias sp from Hong Kong that I collected myself but no male specimen? Are they both the same sp or 2 different sp? Are they both females Actias uljanae? Thanks for any help, Raymond Attachments:
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Post by oehlkew on Sept 7, 2011 2:35:17 GMT -8
Raymond,
The lower one seems to be an Actias sinensis female which is quite different from the male, but it could also be parasinensis or maybe as you suggest uljanae which may be same as felicis or vice versa. As far as I know, of those three/four, only sinensis has been officially recorded from Hong Kong along with Actias ningpoana, but females of sinensis, parasinensis and uljanae/felicis are very similar.
If you take the top one out of the envelope, which is reflecting light, and resubmit, I will offer an opinion on that one.
I understand your previous comment in another thread about not having space or resources to pin these specimens, but they will be much easier to identify with recto images. Perhaps you can take your camera with you to the collecting sites in the future
and photgraph the specimens on the sheet before preserving them.
It is also very useful to have precise locations, dates, forewing measurements, elevations, as sometimes that information can provide clues for identifications. In some areas where there are two or more very similar species, the arrival times of the males at the sheets can also be helpful. Females of one species might have a calling time quite different from females of another very similar species, and sometimes that info can help with determinations, as the males usually arrive at lights in sync with the calling times of females. It can also help if you provide images
of the males of the same genus that arrived at the lights on same dates and location. Often the males are more easily identified than the females. Do you have male Actias taken on or about the same date in same location? Uljanae/felicis males are quite different from sinensis/parasinensis males.
Jean Haxaire noticed this difference (flight clock times) for some Callionima (Sphingidae) he was studying.
Bill Oehlke
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Post by lucanidae25 on Sept 7, 2011 16:26:29 GMT -8
No, I haven't seen any male in Hong Kong, only females and male would be so much easier to ID. I collected them in public toilets in Hong Kong because they have light 24 hours a day. I only found females because females hang around the light day or night.
I'm just not really a Photography person ever since I was growing up. I hate takeing or being taken photo, I never worry about takeing ptotos when I'm collecting because I want to use all my senses on hearing and looking. For me collecting is alway more important than takeing photos.
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Post by oehlkew on Sept 8, 2011 9:07:13 GMT -8
I like to help people, but time is very important to me. I do not know how many more years I will be around, and I have much I still want to do. I do not think I can try to help you any more without more effort on your part to supply better images when you want id help.
If that is something you really do not wish to do (supply better photos due to other priorities), I understand, but hope you can understand that I do not wish to try to do id work from very substandard photos, especially when only verso images are available without wingspans (or forewing lengths) and dates and more precise locations. I also have other priorities.
If you ever try to sell your specimens, you should be aware that they will command a much better price when you have dates and
precise locations. Of course they are also more valuable, probably to you and to most other collectors when you also know what they are.
At least your efforts and the efforts of several other people on your behalf have extended the ranges of ningpoana and rhodopneuma into northeastern Vietnam, although you still may have undescribed subspecies or closely related species rather than just range extensions for those two species.
Bill Oehlke
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Post by saturniidave on Sept 8, 2011 17:22:29 GMT -8
I am with Bill on this one I am afraid. If you want people to positively identify your specimens you NEED to spread them and take photographs. With the pictures and specimens you show here we can only make educated guesses, we can't perform miracles.
Also better locality data and wingspan measurements are very helpful.
Dave
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Post by lucanidae25 on Sept 8, 2011 22:12:04 GMT -8
Bill,
Thank you so much for all your help and all the other's too. I won't take up any more of your time. My main interest is Lucanidae from Asia. It dosen't really matter if some one can ID them or not. It would be nice but I will never sell any of them, even though they are all papered or packaged.
Raymond
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Post by saturniidave on Sept 9, 2011 7:08:16 GMT -8
Raymond, if you are only a beetle collector and have no interest in keeping or spreading moths why not send your specimens to Bill or me, then we could spread then and positively identify them. For myself I would be happy to trade some beetles for those Saturniids.
Dave
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Post by lucanidae25 on Sept 9, 2011 14:14:46 GMT -8
Dave
I do like Saturniidae just not as much as beetles and have a huge collection of them (sometime that's all I get on my light sheet and no Lucanidae) but if I just spreaded one or two of them, I don't know what to do with them because I don't have single cabinet. Where would I put one or two spreaded specimens? If I'm going to have a collection is one or the other, all spreaded or all packaged and since I don't have the room to put cabinets in my place, it's going to be all packaged.
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