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Post by trehopr1 on Nov 19, 2020 13:59:25 GMT -8
My previous thread showed a few "big buster" moths from Ecuador which a friend collected. Of coarse, the real diversity lies in all the hundreds of different "smaller" species which show up at ANY light in a tropical region. So, as not to overlook the things MOST of us are likely to encounter on any foreign trip; I am posting a few pictures of smaller moths which were picked up by both me and my friend on our trips to Ecuador.              Well, now there is a nice "sampling" of just a fraction of the species encountered in Ecuador. There really are a lot of very splendid smaller species to be had if you are a collector ! |
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Post by kevinkk on Nov 19, 2020 14:20:34 GMT -8
There's some nice specimens there, macro moths get most of the attention, but a lot of smaller moths are very pretty. You just need to look
a little closer..
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Post by yorky on Nov 19, 2020 15:42:25 GMT -8
I only usually collect British moths but recently I've obtained a few rare castnia species, never really appreciated their beauty before but looking at some of the pictures here and on the other thread I may diversify a little, if only as the song says "if I was a rich man "
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Post by Paul K on Nov 19, 2020 17:49:33 GMT -8
Diversity of Arctiinae in South America is breath taking. The amount of species and colours is unbelievable.
In six or seven collecting nights within a two weeks period I collected 60 species and there was probably another 30+ that I missed due to overwhelming amount of specimens on the screen and also similarity of some very close related species.
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Post by wollastoni on Nov 20, 2020 0:47:33 GMT -8
I only usually collect British moths but recently I've obtained a few rare castnia species, never really appreciated their beauty before but looking at some of the pictures here and on the other thread I may diversify a little, if only as the song says "if I was a rich man " I agree Castnia are wonderful. Have a look there, some impressive Castniidae in the German supplier selection : www.collector-secret.com/insect/moth/castnia |
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Post by bobw on Nov 20, 2020 1:18:50 GMT -8
I only usually collect British moths but recently I've obtained a few rare castnia species, never really appreciated their beauty before but looking at some of the pictures here and on the other thread I may diversify a little, if only as the song says "if I was a rich man " That's interesting, which Castnia did you get? Castniidae are my speciality and I'm currently in the process of revising several different genera. |
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Post by leptraps on Nov 20, 2020 4:08:25 GMT -8
Once upon a time, I almost succumbed to the sirens call. Neotropical Castniidae and Arctidae. They are stunning creatures to say the least. About the same time, I relocated to South Florida.
I spent the next four years collecting both butterflies and moths. It was fun while it lasted.i did get a little taste of the Neotropical world. It can be extremely addictive.
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Post by yorky on Nov 20, 2020 5:33:40 GMT -8
Hechtiae, flaviomaculata and inca.
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Post by bobw on Nov 20, 2020 8:01:51 GMT -8
Hechtiae, flaviomaculata and inca. Ah, nice Mexican species! I remember about 5-7 years ago when the first of these hit the market (at crazy prices), and now they're everywhere. These are all species of Athis, We have a paper coming out soon on hechtiae and miastagma, and I'm in the early stages of a revision of the entire genus, but this will probably take a year or two. |
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Post by yorky on Nov 20, 2020 8:20:45 GMT -8
 Yes, certain dealers are still trying to sell them at the old prices. |
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Post by alandmor on Nov 20, 2020 8:47:43 GMT -8
Nice specimens. Is what looks like several pieces of blank pink paper under each specimen a locality or other label? Never seen that before. Thanks.
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Post by trehopr1 on Nov 20, 2020 9:05:19 GMT -8
Yes, the data is printed on the flip side. Unfortunately, my friend oddly printed his location data on that lousy color of paper (don't know why -- maybe in a hurry or lack of proper paper?); anyway about (half) of what you see is now on white label paper as the specimens which he traded with me were immediately switched onto proper white paper for my collection...
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Post by bobw on Nov 22, 2020 2:09:27 GMT -8
Here's one of my drawers with flavimaculata and some of my inca, plus thysanete and jaliscana.  |
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Post by yorky on Nov 22, 2020 4:05:36 GMT -8
Those are fantastic Bob, jaliscana is still very expensive.
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Post by bobw on Nov 22, 2020 4:25:22 GMT -8
Those are fantastic Bob, jaliscana is still very expensive. Yes, jaliscana is very difficult to find, there's still only one female known! |
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Post by wolf on Nov 22, 2020 5:23:29 GMT -8
Alittle off topic, but why do some people put the name labels beneath the columns of specimens as displayed in Bob's box? I find it somehow confusing as my logic dictates that the namelabels presents the species that are "next in line" sort to say. At first glance i thought he'd forgot to put a name label of the species in the first column. Just curious!  |
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Post by yorky on Nov 22, 2020 5:44:12 GMT -8
I want castnia estherae next but keep getting outbid
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Post by Paul K on Nov 22, 2020 7:20:50 GMT -8
Alittle off topic, but why do some people put the name labels beneath the columns of specimens as displayed in Bob's box? I find it somehow confusing as my logic dictates that the namelabels presents the species that are "next in line" sort to say. At first glance i thought he'd forgot to put a name label of the species in the first column. Just curious! I’m actually doing the same. I learned from Adam to organize drawer from bottom to the top so when slide out the drawer from cabinet I may see the specimens without taking out a drawer. The species label goes under the specimen(s) and the best quality or interesting specimen goes on the bottom following by less perfect to the top. |
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Post by bobw on Nov 22, 2020 7:49:17 GMT -8
Alittle off topic, but why do some people put the name labels beneath the columns of specimens as displayed in Bob's box? I find it somehow confusing as my logic dictates that the namelabels presents the species that are "next in line" sort to say. At first glance i thought he'd forgot to put a name label of the species in the first column. Just curious! I don't know, it's always just seemed the logical way to me. |
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Post by bobw on Nov 22, 2020 7:58:29 GMT -8
I want castnia estherae next but keep getting outbid (note the new genus) was only known from the type series until four years ago. Some Mexican collectors then discovered where it flies and the first few went for staggering sums. There seem to be a lot on the market now and the price has plummeted. They're not so easy to collect because they fly in April and May whereas all other Mexican Castniidae fly from June and July, and the areas where they fly are controlled by drugs gangs. The males are very unusual in that they have very hairy wings! |
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Post by trehopr1 on Nov 22, 2020 12:06:20 GMT -8
Bobw, which area/region offers the most species?
Mexico, Central America, or South America ?
Can you give us approximate species numbers for each respective region ?
Have never read or heard very much about Castniidae in general; and specimen offerings here in America
have always been on the thin side. I think most material goes over to Europe it seems like...
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Post by bobw on Nov 23, 2020 1:49:55 GMT -8
Bobw, which area/region offers the most species? Mexico, Central America, or South America ? Can you give us approximate species numbers for each respective region ? Have never read or heard very much about Castniidae in general; and specimen offerings here in America have always been on the thin side. I think most material goes over to Europe it seems like... There are just over 90 species of Neotropical Castniidae in all, I've not studied the far-eastern and Australian groups so I can't comment on them. 22 of these are found in Central America and 13 of these are found in Mexico, there are just under 80 in South America. They're not easy to find as they tend to stay well hidden, they're very strong fliers and damage themselves easily; most are day fliers but some are crepuscular. A lot of collectors don't bother with them as they're not seen as being popular. Many species are known from only a handful of specimens and many species which have good series in old museum collections have not been collected in many years, especially in Brazil with their ridiculous laws. I don't know that more material comes to Europe than you get in the States, but there are three serious collectors in Europe and only one in the States. i also think that more of the European dealers are prepared to take a punt on rare material than American ones. I'll try to post some more photos when I have time. |
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Post by trehopr1 on Nov 23, 2020 11:08:41 GMT -8
Thank You bobw for that informative overview of neotropical Castniidae !
I would never have imagined there were that many species in South America because I
have seen so few overall in private collections.
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Post by wolf on Nov 24, 2020 0:25:14 GMT -8
Since this topic has turned towards castniidae, i'll show the 2 species i have in my collection. Collected in Tingo Maria, Peru. Haemonides cronis, a female i believe  Telchin licus |
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Post by bobw on Nov 24, 2020 6:24:49 GMT -8
Here's another drawer of my Castniidae containing another species that Yorky mentioned - hechtiae and miastagma, which has now been separated from hechtiae, plus fuscorubra.  |
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