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Post by trehopr1 on Nov 15, 2020 19:10:14 GMT -8
Sometimes when you view others collections you come across things that you have (maybe) only seen in books or heard of in the "lore" of entomology folks "chatting"... Below, I offer up 2 species of lepidoptera for which I have only seen these but, once in a collection over all my years...  Regent Skipper Euschemon rafflesia (female) Australia, Port Marquarie March.13.1968  Liphyra brassolis (female) Australia, N.Queensland Sept.10.1948 |
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Post by Adam Cotton on Nov 16, 2020 0:11:38 GMT -8
When I first saw the skipper photo I thought it was a day-flying Agaristine moth. I suppose it is a mimic.
Liphyra brassolis is a very unusual Lycaenid. The larva lives in the nests of Oecophylla ants, and eats them. We have this species in Thailand too, but it is very rarely seen. I suspect that actually it is not rare, just very rarely ever collected, as the ants it lives on are very common.
Adam.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Nov 16, 2020 1:58:46 GMT -8
I talked to Yutaka Inayoshi on the phone an hour ago and mentioned Liphyra brassolis. He told me one reason it is very rarely collected is because it flies a little after dark, not in the daytime or before it gets dark. He also thinks that it is probably quite common, but people just don't see it.
Adam.
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Post by albugcatcher on Nov 17, 2020 14:17:32 GMT -8
Liphyra brassolis flies in the day time in Australia, i have seen them in North Queensland rain Forrest looking for green ant nests to lay their eggs. Definitely not common though.
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Post by Paul K on Nov 17, 2020 15:55:27 GMT -8
Liphyra brassolis flies in the day time in Australia, i have seen them in North Queensland rain Forrest looking for green ant nests to lay their eggs. Definitely not common though. That is very interesting how the same species behave so differently in different locations. I suppose it has something to do with the survival after all. I guess we could compare that to humans, working night and day shifts to survive 😉 |
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Post by Paul K on Nov 17, 2020 16:00:29 GMT -8
When I first saw the skipper photo I thought it was a day-flying Agaristine moth. I suppose it is a mimic. Liphyra brassolis is a very unusual Lycaenid. The larva lives in the nests of Oecophylla ants, and eats them. We have this species in Thailand too, but it is very rarely seen. I suspect that actually it is not rare, just very rarely ever collected, as the ants it lives on are very common. Adam. There is another species in Thailand that feeds on Oecophylla larvae but it is not an insect 😉😎 |
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Post by trehopr1 on Nov 18, 2020 14:23:34 GMT -8
Here is an extremely melanic Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) which a good friend wild collected a few years ago. Of coarse, wouldn't it figure that it would have a bird attack on it...  |
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