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Post by Jonn on Jun 19, 2018 12:25:40 GMT -8
Caught my first Catocala of the year this morning, C. grynea. Only baiting from my backyard so far, will be getting my traps out in a few days.
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leptraps
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Post by leptraps on Jun 20, 2018 7:42:50 GMT -8
I checked my Bait Traps this AM: Catocala judith, Catocala ilia, Catocala illecta and Catocala ultronia. I also found a Catocala grynea on the wall of the Marathon Gas Station on the west side of Georgetown.
The hoards of butterflies in the Bait Traps are almost unbelievable. Asterocampa's Polygonia's, several Nymphalis antiopa and a lone Anaea andria. I also collected a Cercyonis pegala in a Bait Trap at a location in Carroll County, Buck's Run south of the town of Ghent. I havenot had a Bait Trap at this location since 2005 and did very well with Catocala and butterflies in general. It is such a hoof to get to and back. I also saw my first Monarch of 2018.
Tomorrow I am traveling to eastern Kentucky to look for butterflies.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2018 9:28:32 GMT -8
I saw some Cercyonis pegala around a small pond a few years ago. I didn't have any collecting equipment with me at the time. I have been back to the location to search for them several times with no luck. Perhaps they should be called the not-common wood nymph.
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Post by Paul K on Jun 20, 2018 14:26:17 GMT -8
I think Cercyonis pegala is locally common. There is a colony of this species in forested area 10 km north of Toronto and they are very common in mid July but I hardly find them anywhere else.
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leptraps
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Post by leptraps on Jun 21, 2018 6:35:51 GMT -8
Cercyonis pegala has numerous subspecies east of the Mississippi. There are several areas where there has been little collecting and possibly two more Subspecies. Cercyonis pegala alope has the orange patch in the forewing. Cercyonia pegala nephele lacks the orange patch and there is some varition of the eye spots. In central Florida a very large Cercyonis pegala abbotti occurs. In mountains of western Virginia Cercyonis pegala pegala occurs which is larger than Cercyonis pegala alope. There are several subspecies that occur in Michigan/Wisconsin/Minnesota. The species needs some serious work. The vast majority of the specimens in my collection were collected via Bait Traps. Whenever I am in the field, I normally collect every Cercyonis species I find. Cercyonis is a rather interesting group. In the photograph below are Cercyonis pegala fronm Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and eastern North Carolina. I have three more drawers of Cercyonis, including western species (West of the Mississippi River).
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leptraps
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Post by leptraps on Jun 21, 2018 6:40:48 GMT -8
The photograph below are Cercyonis pegala alope from eastern Virginia (Dismal Swamp) and Cercyonis pegala abbotti from Central Florida. These Cercyonis pegala abbotti are the largest subspecies. I also collected a small series from central Mississippi that are almost slate gray in the underside.
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Post by leptraps on Jun 21, 2018 6:48:35 GMT -8
Hey John Hyatt:
Have you collected Cercyonis pegala from the coast of Georgia? I have several from the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. The area I found them in 1969 is all gone to development.
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Post by leptraps on Jun 22, 2018 18:39:45 GMT -8
Thursday afternoon I ventured up to Kleber WMA in Owen County and set out several Bait Traps in the rain. Soaked to my skivvies. It rained harder than a double ####ed cow pissing on a flat rock. I thought for sure the bait would be flood out. I returned today just to check and add bait, etc. I have several of a lot of things, however, I found one exceptionally dark Catocala ilia. He is a beauty.
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Post by fishnbugz on Jun 22, 2018 20:14:52 GMT -8
Went up to SD for a couple nights and caught a couple Clinton's Underwing, one at a light and one from a bait trap. Weather has been cool and wet all week and there's been no new cats at home, the one minuta from last week is the darkest of just a few form parvula in my collection. Highlights from this week's SD trip were an apparent pair of Cirrophanus triangulifer, or at least one is quite bigger than the other. I caught a Bulia deducta each night, never caught that species here before. The first Emerald Euphoria beetle of '18 showed up in a bait trap, and a single Nessus Sphinx in excellent condition also in a trap. I had the 4th Polyphemus of the year and my 6 yr old granddaughter put it in a cage along with a pair of Smerinthus jamaicensis and spent some time checking them out.
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Post by fishnbugz on Jun 22, 2018 21:30:51 GMT -8
I took another minuta tonight, plus a nicely marked zale and a very dark brown noctua pronuba from the traps in the yard. I took one very tiny unknown moth from the light, yellow with darker bars on the forewing. About a 1/2 inch wingspan, a very tiny moth but a new species for me.
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Post by fishnbugz on Jun 23, 2018 8:09:38 GMT -8
Catocala minuta form parvula. Extra dark forewings, and slightly less dark than usual on the inner margin of the hindwings. I took 4 minuta last night from the traps in the yard, none too fancy. I run about 4 traps in the yard at home, and 4 in SD at the camper- which are pretty much always baited once the season gets rolling...then 23 more that I plan to run in better habitat on the best weather nights- I'm surrounded by cornfields, but there are oak forests along the river bluffs that have moths I can't get at home. I build my own traps for maybe 5 bucks each or so in materials and consider them practically disposable- although any vandal would really have to be looking to even find one, and in most cases they ain't got the cajones to be wandering the woods at night.
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Post by fishnbugz on Jun 24, 2018 11:44:12 GMT -8
I had a total of 9 C. minuta last night, one N. pronuba, 3 zale lunata. Took one nice form mellitula and the N. pronuba and let most of the rest go. One C. minuta was at light, everything else was in the traps. At least I'm finally catching 'something' here at home, but I've heard a few reports of cecropia flying in S.D. this last week. I've still got some time before the more interesting catocala are flying here, I probably better get up there and try for one!
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Post by leptraps on Jun 26, 2018 16:50:08 GMT -8
We have had about 21/2 days of severe weather. Lots of wind 40+MPH with some heavy rain. I ventured out late this afternoon to check some of my Bait Traps. Most had flooded bait containers. Especially the Slotted Pan Bait Traps. Lots of waterlogged butterflies and absolutely no Catocala moths. Although I collected something I have never taken or seen in or near or on my Bait Traps. Leaf Hoppers. Must have been ten or fifteen in two Bait Traps. Can anyone give me an ID?
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Post by leptraps on Jun 26, 2018 17:11:09 GMT -8
[/quote]In the photo, are the middle pins through the wings?[/quote] I use #000 pins to hold the wings in place until I can cover them with white card stock. I use #000 in Pin Sticks to manipulate/position the wings. I have used this process for 65+ years.
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Post by trehopr1 on Jun 26, 2018 20:22:33 GMT -8
Leptraps, you are in luck because these fellows are my special interest ! You have a species of treehopper (Membracidae) before you. Leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) are a close cousin (so to speak); which are parallel sided and lack the thorny, knobby, and/or strange protuberances of treehoppers. In Kentucky, there are at present 58 species of treehoppers present. This one belongs to the tribe Telamonini and the genus: Glossonotus. There are at present 4 species belonging to that genus. Without the aid of a microscope to look at the small characters you need to; one cannot differentiate them easily to species by eye.
It's det. label should read: Glossonotus sp. Sincerely, Trehopr1
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