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Post by trehopr1 on Aug 31, 2021 21:09:27 GMT -8
I cannot quite get a sharp look or focus on the smaller cat on the bottom board (to the far right).
Have you determined it ?
Looks to small to be an amatrix but could be...
Too red to be coccinata and forewing markings look different.
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Post by mothman55 on Sept 1, 2021 5:34:40 GMT -8
Sorry, I should have listed the species. Top board, left to right: nebulosa, parta, briseis, nebulosa, meskei, innubens, subnata Bottom board, left to right: concumbens, paleogama, nebulosa, amatrix selecta, relicta, cerogama, coccinata.
Additional species I get here are ilia, ultronia, unijuga, cara, semirelicta, grynea, mira, blandula, neogama, piatrix, linella, vidua. So far (past 3 years) I have a total of 22 species at this location.
I agree, nebulosa is also one of my favourites. I only got one last year, but this has been a good year for them with 3 taken.
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Post by rayrard on Sept 9, 2021 19:16:04 GMT -8
I'd give my left nut for briseis in CT.
The summit of Sleeping Giant where I had 18 species in August has declined to only 6 species the other night (palaeogama, ilia, habilis, vidua, retecta, nebulosa) and only singletons of most of them. The heavy rains and cooler temps have slowed the Catocala down when there should be another month left in their flight period here.
According to iNaturalist I have 40 species this season with 34 sp. in CT. I have not seen amatrix and relicta yet so I think I can get to my usual ~40-45 species in a season.
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Post by rayrard on Oct 6, 2021 18:58:03 GMT -8
added a late C. relicta to get to 41 species. Only worn retecta, vidua, ilia, and habilis left but also had a late September serena
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Post by mothman55 on Oct 7, 2021 6:10:10 GMT -8
Rayrard, 40+ catocala species in a season is amazing. In my life I have 35 Ontario species thus far, you beat that each season. I have a friend southwest of here near Windsor, he gets close to 40 in that area.
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Post by rayrard on Oct 11, 2021 17:43:11 GMT -8
the northeast is one of the Catocala hotspots, but I think with concerted effort and light/bait attempts you should be able to get 30-40 species per season anywhere in the east. Of course you have to target some specialized habitats and get lucky on a few species
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Post by vabrou on Dec 12, 2021 17:44:37 GMT -8
I noted lots pf postings about underwing moths, so here are a few things to ponder.
In 'Rare, declining, and poorly known Butterflies and Moths... of the Eastern US' by Schweitzer, Minno, Wagner (2011) these authors state "The highest location we know of is Vernon Brou's property near Abita Springs, Louisiana where 45 species have been documented over 28 years". Note that number included three Catocala species I formally and previously described in scientific literature (Catocala atocala Brou, Catocala charlottae Brou, Catocala umbrosa Brou). But I have collected at this location for an additional 12 years since that published report. And I have personally collected about 12 species of Catocala in Louisiana, new to science over my lifetime. And recently, I reported on still another recently described species Catocala myristica found in north Louisiana. My list of Catocala species for the state of Louisiana currently stands at about 55 species (over 52 years of non-stop collecting).
I have collected Catocala using hundreds of various self-designed automatic-capture insect traps over the past 41 years here at this particular location Abita Entomological Study Site in SE Louisiana (my home) using UV light traps and fermenting fruit bait traps. Over these four decades, there have been 3 noteworthy outbreaks of Catocala here at our home property. We captured as much as 30,000 adult underwings just in the month of June during two years, and one year we captured at least 4,000 adult Catocala each day of the month (=120,000) adults, in just the month of June. We typically capture adult Catocala here from April into December.
FYI: Abita Entomological Study Site (AESS) is recognized and considered by entomologists worldwide as the most intensely studied entomological location in North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico). This 10 acre location, 74320 Jack Loyd Road Abita Springs, Louisiana 70420 USA, is the home of Vernon Antoine Brou Jr. & Charlotte D. Brou for the past 41 years. Numerous hundreds (450-500 self-designed, automatic-capture insect traps) operated continuously 24-hours daily/nightly, every day, of every year 1981 to present day (2022), regardless of temperature, rains, snow, storms and hurricanes, or other adverse weather conditions, at this mostly wooded location in central St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. This location has been severely impacted by dozens of tropical storms and hurricanes e.g., on September 29-2005 by Hurricane Katrina and later on September 29-2021 by Hurricane Ida. More than 100 mature large trees and hundreds of smaller trees were completely destroyed because of these many storms. The AESS is in an area receiving the second most annual precipitation (62+ inches) in the continental US, though in 1991 the AESS received approximately 120 inches of rainfall.
To sum up, Anyone can do these things, all it takes is the will to get off the lounge chair, deal with a lot of crap, and run lots and lots of traps and never turn them off for any reasons. I accomplished these things while employed and working 60, 70, 80+ hours weekly for decades, obtaining two graduate degrees, raising children, and a very supportive third wife for the past 47 years. First two weren't very supportive.
On other insects I have had some noteworthy comments, e.g. We have captured around 200,000 hawkmoths across Louisiana, and about 400,000 clearwing moths across Louisiana. Wife and I are retired from employment.
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Post by Paul K on Dec 12, 2021 19:05:02 GMT -8
Vernon, how did you do all this while you were employed and having kids? This is something I can not grasp. It seems like your day has 48 hours. Is time passes slower in Louisiana 😉
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Post by kevinkk on Dec 12, 2021 19:44:08 GMT -8
Vernon, how did you do all this while you were employed and having kids? This is something I can not grasp. It seems like your day has 48 hours. Is time passes slower in Louisiana 😉 I think he explained it in his summation, it's an impressive body of work
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Post by vabrou on Dec 13, 2021 6:35:36 GMT -8
Paul, perhaps a consequence is that I have typically slept only 4-5 hours/day most of my life, and lets not forget the 'supportive wife' of 47 years. But, as I said, turn on your traps, and never turn them off, for any reason. E.g. in 1991 I drove myself 50 miles to the hospital I worked at with terrible cardiac symptoms and promptly died moments after walking into the emergency room (ER). Had multiple lifesaving procedures including PTCAs and triple bypass surgery, left hospital 5 days later. Upon returning home, my light traps were truly filled to overflowing with 5 nights of insects, as they operated automatically using photoelectric on-off controls on their own while I was physically 50 miles away. I typically place cyanide in my traps only once or twice a year. Designed my rain drains to operate automatically. Lesson is, I spend practically no time manually collecting, I do spend an enormous amount of time picking up the captures and processing them. My clearwing moth traps are positioned so I can access them without getting off my tractor. But to answer your question in a single word 'traps-lots-of-them'. Learn how to collect without participating in the time-consuming minutia. E.g. my bait traps can capture hundreds of butterflies and hundreds of underwings in a single day. My intended purpose for running my fermenting fruit bait traps was primarily to collect hawkmoths, and they were very successful doing that. And later I added 'automatic-capture' collecting devices to my bait traps. Don't just run one bait trap, I once ran 8 bait traps for 8 years straight (24 hrs daily/365 days/year), these in addition to my 7 light traps and hundreds of clearwing moth traps, and many dozens of dung beetle traps. I don't do these activities using methods like anyone else you know, e'g' when I run dung beetle traps, the beetles wash themselves before I gather them up daily. Learn how to do repetitive tasks more efficiently. Do not criticize my use of cyanide. Millions of pristine quality lepidoptera and other insects find their way into my collection chambers weekly. And I have hundreds of traps operating in the same locations for about 15,000 consecutive days/nights (41 years at this location). If you mistakenly believe I am wiping out the fauna, seems that would have happened about 40 years ago, if that was true. I have walked the walk, and I have a lifetime of actual data regarding these insect population matters, those who think otherwise have no actual data. Oh!!, If you are going to die, I recommend you do so in an ER - worked for me. And consider, I do not have any entomological related degree, but others who do have MS and PhD's in entomology, and have visited me over the decades often say, "boy, I wish I would have done 'it' your way, instead". I have been asked on three occasions to be guest lecturer to university entomological classes. But I am usually too busy. Here are two freely accessible links illustrating my traps here at my home location. www.academia.edu/29739961/Trap_placement_at_the_Abita_Springs_study_site_in_2010_A_Pictorial?sm=b and www.academia.edu/39671927/Trap_placement_at_the_Abita_Springs_study_site_in_2018_A_Pictorial_sec_24_T6S_R12E_4_2_mi_NE_of_Abita_Springs_Louisiana_USA?sm=b
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Post by mothman55 on Dec 13, 2021 10:12:10 GMT -8
Vernon, I visited you at the end of June of 1987. We used your impressive MV setup one night in Weyanoke and one night near Gorum. I checked my notes, we did pretty well in Weyanoke (probably an off night for you, but a very good night by my standards) and not so well in Gorum. I don't think you had nearly as many traps back then as I remember checking them with you. But based on the numbers you get at Abita Springs, we should have just stayed there.
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Post by Paul K on Dec 13, 2021 11:06:00 GMT -8
Vernon, you are one of these truly dedicated entomologist. Also you are a living proof that collecting can not wipe out insect population. I really admire your hard work. All the best Paul
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Post by rayrard on Dec 16, 2021 6:21:52 GMT -8
I think my full tally of Catocala species in the little state of CT is 45, with only a few options for future finds. I anticipate eventually finding some southern migrants and maybe some rare ones like pretiosa, badia, and briseis. Getting 50 species in CT is probably gonna fall short.
I ran into myristica on my southern roadtrip this past year, along with sappho and marmorata. I got one of each but better than none of each.
I would love to get into the midwest and deep south for some of the super rare ones like lincolnana, louisae, atocala, whitneyi, luctuosa, miranda, and orba.
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Post by vabrou on Dec 16, 2021 7:11:30 GMT -8
From my unpublished list of the Noctuoidea of Louisiana. Here are the Catocala species I have documented for the state of Louisiana (1969-2021). This list may have to be tweaked a bit before publishing it, because of more recent discoveries of new species and new synonymies. The holarctic genus Catocala Schrank (1802) contains more than 200 species worldwide. More recently in North America these number around 103 species.
Catocala innubens Guenée, 1852 Catocala piatrix Grote, 1864 Catocala consors (J.E. Smith, 1797) Catocala epione (Drury, 1773) Catocala muliercula Guenée, 1852 Catocala robinsonii Grote, 1872 Catocala angusi Grote, 1876 Catocala judith Strecker, 1874 Catocala sappho Strecker, 1874 Catocala agrippina Strecker, 1874 Catocala atocala Brou, 1985 Catocala ulalume Strecker, 1878 Catocala dejecta Strecker, 1880 Catocala insolabilis Guenée, 1852 Catocala vidua (J.E. Smith, 1797) Catocala maestosa Hulst, 1884 Catocala lacrymosa Guenée, 1852 Catocala palaeogama Guenée, 1852 Catocala nebulosa H. Edwards, 1864 Catocala neogama (J.E. Smith, 1797) Catocala ilia (Cramer, 1776) Catocala umbrosa Brou, 2003 Catocala marmorata H. Edwards, 1864 Catocala cara Guenée, 1852 Catocala amatrix (Hübner, [1813]) Catocala myristica Kons Catocala messalina Guenée, 1852 Catocala gracilis Edwards, 1864 Catocala louiseae Bauer, 1965 Catocala bastropi Kons and Borth Catocala andromedae Guenée, 1852 Catocala coccinata Grote, 1872 Catocala miranda H. Edwards, 1881 Catocala orba Kusnezov, 1903 Catocala ultronia (Hübner, 1823) Catocala crataegi Saunders, 1876 Catocala pretiosa Lintner, 1876 Catocala texarkana Brower, 1976 Catocala lincolnana Brower, 1976 Catocala mira Grote, 1876 Catocala grynea (Cramer, 1780) Catocala blandula Hulst, 1884 Catocala titania Dodge, 1900 Catocala alabamae Grote, 1875 Catocala charlottae Brou, 1988 Catocala olivia H. Edwards, 1880 Catocala clintonii Grote, 1864 Catocala similis Edwards, 1864 Catocala minuta Edwards, 1864 Catocala micronympha Guenée, 1852 Catocala connubialis Guenée, 1852 Catocala amica (Hübner, 1818) Catocala lineella Grote, 1872 Catocala (new species)
Anyone have color images of adults of Catocala ilia or Catocala umbrosa they would like me to look at, send them and identify yourself with full name and your address/location so I will know who I am talking to. my e-mail: vabrou@bellsouth.net
Vernon Antoine Brou Jr. 'The Abita Entomological Study Site'
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Post by rayrard on Dec 16, 2021 19:54:48 GMT -8
Still so many of these I haven't seen alive. The southern "small species" seem to be the most difficult to find since they don't fly all summer like the large species, and they seem to be very localized in range and flight period
Catocala consors (J.E. Smith, 1797) Catocala robinsonii Grote, 1872 Catocala angusi Grote, 1876 Catocala atocala Brou, 1985 Catocala ulalume Strecker, 1878 Catocala messalina Guenée, 1852 Catocala louiseae Bauer, 1965 Catocala bastropi Kons and Borth Catocala miranda H. Edwards, 1881 Catocala orba Kusnezov, 1903 Catocala pretiosa Lintner, 1876 Catocala texarkana Brower, 1976 Catocala lincolnana Brower, 1976 Catocala titania Dodge, 1900 Catocala charlottae Brou, 1988 Catocala olivia H. Edwards, 1880 Catocala clintonii Grote, 1864
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