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Post by exoticimports on Sept 27, 2012 12:18:29 GMT -8
Though maia occurs throughout the eastern USA, there are several small populations in northern NY that all occur in Oswego county.
These maia are unique in that they live only in bogs (not swamps, but floating bogs) and feed on bog buckbean.
The populations, under study for a decade, have dropped markedly for reasons still unknown. This maia is a protected species in NY. For these reasons the locations are not advertised.
Two weeks ago on a gorgeous day I went to one location and observed a dozen or so individuals of both species flying in the cool September air.
I proposed that the reason for the drop in populations is because the males suck at finding the females; we watched the males zip around, passing by the females they seek. Not one coupling was observed.
Note that all of the sites where these maia exist are under study and constantly monitored and attended by NYS DEC, Nature Conservancy, and another group. I offer this in case somebody gets the bright idea they're going to go collect one- the terrain is tough, it is under private and/or DEC control, and there is always somebody there.
But it was very exciting to observe such an oddity!
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Post by papilio28570 on Sept 30, 2012 7:10:33 GMT -8
Males of some species like to stretch their wings and fly before seeking a mate. Also, perhaps the time of ay was not correct for the females to be receptive.
I have yet to see this species on the east coast and I have lived from New Jersey to Florida over the past 65 years. I simply cannot narrow down the time window of when they fly. You report 2 weeks ago in New York, and last year I read a report of a large flight in November in South Carolina. Locality to search also appears to be an issue. I have looked in oak scrub and oak forest....
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evra
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Posts: 230
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Post by evra on Oct 2, 2012 16:08:13 GMT -8
I haven't collected H. maia, but I've collected most of the western species, and in general Hemileucas can be hard to find. They're usually in scattered colonies, have a relatively short flight period, and the males fly for a pretty short time during the day. On top of that, they all seem to have huge cyclic population swings. One year they'll be all over the place, and then they'll be almost absent for 2-3 years. So you might be doing everything right and still not see one for several years. It's fun when you hit it right, and pretty frustrating otherwise.
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Post by Chris Grinter on Oct 2, 2012 21:43:17 GMT -8
I'd modify evra's comment by saying the adults of the day-flying species can be really hard to track down. However, if you know the host plant you can find caterpillars pretty easily at the right time of year. If I go in the spring I'm guaranteed to find a cat... but if I go at the perfect time in the fall to get an adult it's a crap-shoot and you have to run fast over horrible terrain!
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ckswank
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Country: USA
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Post by ckswank on Oct 4, 2012 12:21:50 GMT -8
I know what you mean, Chris. There is a population of these near Matagorda Bay on the Texas coast that flies in December. It's about a 3 hour drive from where I live. A friend & I went down 3 years ago. Unknown to us was the landowners had put up 8 foot tall deer fences along the highway. We must have seen 30-40 moths that day but were only able to capture one. The moths would fly very fast across the road from one property to the other & unless you were standing right where they were crossing, there was no way to run them down. Bad thing is, unless you could get a landowner to give you permission, all of the scrub oaks are behind the fences, so no caterpillars either. I have read that the caterpillars are considered a pest in the New Orleans area early in the spring. Might have to venture over that way sometime, but it's about a 5 hour drive from where I live. Would hate to go & find little or nothing.
Charlie
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evra
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Post by evra on Nov 5, 2012 12:56:25 GMT -8
Yeah, well that's how Hemileuca collecting is. Rarely do species fly sympatrically as well, so you have to make a separate trip for each Hemileuca. Needless to say, western Hemileuca collectors put a lot of miles on their cars, because it seems like the colonies of Hemileucas are at least a couple of hours from anywhere. In southern Arizona, Hemileuca juno is flying right now. It has day-flying males, but nocturnal females. So you can get females at your lights. The gas stations, border patrol checkpoint lights, and any other lighted place get covered with them. It's interesting that with the number of females that get run over by cars and eaten by birds in the morning, you'd think it would negatively affect the population, at least in the immediate area of the lights, but it really doesn't. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:
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Post by beetlehorn on Nov 11, 2012 18:21:11 GMT -8
This morning after deer hunting I decided to take a little drive through some habitat I suspected would yield some Buckmoths. It was just after 12:00 noon when I got started. Just a few miles from my house I started seeing them fluttering across the road. I would guess at sighting a few dozen at least, so I found a place to park and it wasn't long before I started swinging my net. I was feeling rather humbled after several attempts, but I did manage to capture a few. In retrospect I should have tried yesterday morning, and gotten an earlier start today. Here in Tennessee, Buckmoths(Hemileuca maia) fly from the first week of November until the third week or so depending on conditions. These are interesting, compelling, and somewhat nostalgic moths for me because I clearly remember seeing them fly at my property many years ago, but haven't seen one there for a long time. Tom
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Post by mooks666 on Nov 13, 2012 8:03:27 GMT -8
Amazing sight but l would say that living in the UK beats our brown moths any day must be great seeing those and others l particulary would love to see Callosamia promethea males assemble to females thats just sheer enjoyment in my eyes..
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