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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2012 19:37:02 GMT -8
I recently made a long trek/drove (5,700 miles, round-trip) to Arizona with my friend Eric and met up with two other friends Tom and Evan. I spent the evenings of July 16th through the 24th blacklighting for moths and beetles. Due to the great advice of Evan, we timed it 'just right' and our sheets were covered with many goodies. We also met other collectors from Phoenix and Canada. Below is a short list of some of the species scored on. Sphingicampa hubbardi, raspa, and montana, all in great numbers E. oslari (many color forms in great munbers) E. caletta---just emerged-like H. gloveri---just emerged-like A. iris, cecrops, and patagoniensis(many many many) D. howardi ( I think we all caught 11 or so...I got 5) A. oculea in fine numbers (including a couple with emense black---pics will follow when off the boards) Sphingids bigtime---- E. typhon, E. achemon, S. dollii, M. florestan, M. rustica, M. muscusa, M. quinquemaculata, P. occidentalis, P. terlooii, M. sexta, H. lineata to name a few. I still have to ID a few....I'm sure Evan will know 'em. Got lots of little stuff which I have to ID later on in the winter. Evan knew them all, where to go, when to go, and without him, we would have done less well/fantastically. Thanks Evan. The following few pics are of the general habitats where we set up. Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2012 19:44:29 GMT -8
The area was so rich and fresh with green during this monsoon season. Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2012 19:45:59 GMT -8
This was my first time to AZ and it was awesome. Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2012 19:48:16 GMT -8
This area hardly seems(to my untrained eye) able to support such high numbers of insects and with such diversity. I now realize it sure does. Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2012 20:05:49 GMT -8
Finally, a look at my light set-up. This pic was taken just as we turned on the lights as it was just getting dark. The 8 lights a top are 42w Daylight bulbs(6500 k) each bulb generating 200w---making for 3500 lumens each in the far blue end of the spectrum, hence the 6500 k. The two lower tubular lights are 24" Blacklights (BV Bulbs) which do the trick for cycling the lights during the evenings. Eric and I did many nights from 8:00p.m. to 5:00a.m.(sunrise). I was tempted by Tom to do some day collecting, but I had to be focused on resting during the day so I had the stamina to stay up as late as needed. For this trip, my goal/focus was for the nocturnal fliers. A few nights were less than great and we ended a bit earlier. I don't think I collected one specimen during the day.....maybe next time. Again, thanks to Evan for being so helpful and teaching me the ways of night collecting in the west. Oh---in my craziness, I have already modified my sheets set-up to be better in a breeze/wind. I did have a catastrophe with the wind knocking over my lights. Luckily, the two blacklights were spared, for they are $23 each. After a few words not appropriate to type here, I drove to Tuscon and found a place selling those same Daylight bulbs and bought all they had. Attachments:
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ckswank
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Post by ckswank on Jul 31, 2012 20:50:05 GMT -8
Bill - Sounds like you had a great time! Wish my trip to Pena Blanca back in early August 2009 would have been nearly as productive. It was an extremely dry year & I caught very little. Happened to run into Bruce Walsh & a group he was instructing. Very nice person & very helpful. They all had to leave around midnight & I wasn't about to stick around by myself in "no man's land" without even cell phone reception. From what I've read, drug smuggling is getting worse through that area every year. As it was, I got stopped by Border Patrol on my way out. Can't blame them though since I was driving a rented Ford Focus with Texas plates! They were cool as soon as they saw all my bug collecting gear. Looking forward to seeing your pictures.
Charlie
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2012 20:58:29 GMT -8
Charlie, Yeh----I know what you mean. We saw mega-border patrols and chatted with many of them. As soon as they saw the lights or my plates on the Jeep, they were fine. In fact, they seemed very eager to assist us any way they could. I heard the drug thing is really bad there and most of the other places we went, but there were no issues at all......thankfully. Pena Blanca was not one of our best spots either, for it burned two years ago and is still recovering. We got really nice stuff, just not in the numbers we saw at other places. I heard that the monsoon season is the time to go and that means getting wet, but it is sure worth it
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evra
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Post by evra on Aug 1, 2012 15:53:46 GMT -8
With the Saturniids in Arizona, it's really feast or famine Charlie. They fly for about 7-10 days per year usually, and if you can get onto that week, you'll see a couple dozen individuals of 8-10 different species at your light. This year, that peak time was 2 weeks ago. Tonight, if you went back to the exact same spot with the exact same lights you'd be lucky to get 1-2 tattered specimens of 3-4 species.
This was a very early year, and so was 2009. It actually wasn't too bad of a year, but the peak was around July 20, 2009. By August 1, the Saturniids were basically done. The Sphingids and Arctiids might have still been good, but you really have to stay out all night as well. The best collecting is between 1-3 AM usually.
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Post by admin on Aug 1, 2012 20:54:13 GMT -8
This area hardly seems(to my untrained eye) able to support such high numbers of insects and with such diversity. I now realize it sure does. What kind of trees are we looking at here?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2012 14:00:06 GMT -8
Clark,
Sorry it took so long to reply.
I saw the following plants in the region and some of what I list may not be a particular pic.
Gamble's Oak -------lots Mesquite ------------lots+ Sycamore Juniper ----------some places had lots Mansanita <sic> (I think this was hostplant for H. gloveri) Yuccas Shrubs Grasses (I was told the names and since forgot, but I seem to remember that these grasses fed pops. of A. patagoniensis, and E. oslari)
When next I email Evan, I'll ask him, for he knew the plants about wel as he knew his bugs.
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Post by beetlehorn on Aug 4, 2012 15:17:26 GMT -8
I must say it was some of the finest collecting Iv'e ever done. According to Evan (evra), all the monsoon rains in southern Arizona recently contributed to a flurry of moth activity. The areas we covered were, Madera canyon, California gulch, Copper canyon, Hershaw, and on our final day Evan and I went to Globe Arizona, up on Pinal Point high in the southern Rockies, where we encountered Arizona Sisters (Adelpha eulalia) Papilio multicaudata, several Catocalas, and a few different species of Tarantula Hawk wasps. The trip was so good I actually had to buy a larger plastic container to bring my specimens back home, and I had to rearrange my luggage just to make everything fit. Thanks to Evan, and Bill and Eric it was a trip I'll never forget. In the photo I took on the way out of California gulch, it is clearly evident by how green everything is, the rainfall gave everything a real "shot in the arm". The long wirey looking plants are called ocotillo, which is the host plant for Eupacardia calleta. The trees in the valley are a mixture of oak, mesquite, and some hackberry. Aside from the wonderful time we had collecting, and the comraderie, I came back with some newly found knowledge, because as a collector/naturalist, I have found you just can't go on such a trip without learning something new, no matter what your age is. Attachments:
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Post by beetlehorn on Aug 4, 2012 15:43:13 GMT -8
All of the species we were targeting came to our setup, except one extremely rare sphingid. I did get a few other moths as a bonus including Manduca acculta, Rothschildia cincta, Dysschema howardi, Agapema homogena,and Sphingicampa raspa. There are several others I have not listed, but Evan instructed me to go ahead and collect them as well because they are rather uncommon or rare in most years. So I took his word for it, and surrendered my better judgement to his knowledge of Southwestern Lepidoptera. I am to this day still impressed not only at how many species we encountered, but mostly at how knowledgeable Evan is at their habits, life histories, and taxonomy, right down to the subspecies level! Attachments:
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Post by beetlehorn on Aug 4, 2012 15:48:55 GMT -8
Shame on me for not naming the moth in the last pic. It is Arachnis picta, of which we encountered several dozen. Here is a photo of the prized species Dysschema howrdi that came into our lights, which is easily one of North Americas most spectacular Tiger Moths. Tom Attachments:
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Post by beetlehorn on Aug 4, 2012 16:32:50 GMT -8
On my last day in Arizona, Evan agreed to take me to the airport in Phoenix since he was returning home there anyway. I wanted to get some more Asterocampa leilia specimens to add to the ones I got last year. Well we found them again in the same wash where I accidentally found them one morning last August. Here is a pic of a male perched on a rock. We left the area which was a bit Northeast of Phoenix at around 9:00am, I wish I could have stayed longer but my plane left at 11:00am, so we had to get going. Anyway it was the "frosting on the cake" for me, and once again I would like to announce my appreciation to my friend Evan for his efforts, knowledge, and great advice. In addition thanks again Bill for hauling my supplies back and forth. I hope we can do this again sometime. Tom Attachments:
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Post by bugboys3 on Aug 5, 2012 11:16:46 GMT -8
That must have been a huge thrill for you guys to have that much success. I keep telling my son we need to go to Southern Arizona at the end of July to collect. He would be amazed if we got half the moths that you guys got.
We are going out tonight with our moth bait & MV light.
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