Chuck wrote: ↑Mon Mar 17, 2025 12:28 pm On the priamus-types, what I find most interesting is indeed the morphology, but as reflecting divergence- who the $**@ would have ever dreamed up an orange priamus-type? Green, blue, grey, those I understand. But orange?

Indeed ! And let's quote A.R. Wallace famous words when he discovered them :
""You may perhaps imagine my excitement when, after seeing it only two or three times in three months, I at length took a male Ornithoptera. When I took it out of my net, and opened its gorgeous wings, I was nearer fainting with delight and excitement than I have ever been in my life; my heart beat violently, and the blood rushed to my head, leaving a headache for the rest of the day. The insect surpassed my expectations, being, though allied to Priamus, perfectly new, distinct, and of a most gorgeous and unique colour; it is a fiery golden orange, changing, when viewed obliquely, to opaline-yellow and green. It is, I think, the finest of the Ornithoptera, and consequently the finest butterfly in the world?”

Well, I'm days from seeing my collection heading off. Some is going to Cornell, the scientifically interesting material. The commercial stuff- most of which I bought when I was much younger- I figured Cornell really doesn't need, and lots of this material is now hard to get, so a retailer will get this; that way he can share it out to the collector community. Stand by for more info.

One challenge I faced was finding a stable, sane institution to take the collection. I have to say, at the end of the day I did not find this such that it satisfied my concerns, but I believe the collections department will outlast institutional instability. I hope. Too, I looked at the investment institutions were willing to make to get the collection. One said they'd really like it, it was a great fit, and they'd take it if I delivered it. I always look at "skin in the game" - what's the other party's commitment? And if the other party has no skin in the game, I'm not interested. In fact, said institution said there was no funding for collection gathering, yet they blow money on other Lep projects. I think wait? I'm supposed to incur cost to deliver this to you, free? So they unfortunately got themselves eliminated, which is too bad because a significant subset of my collection would have been a great fit.

I wonder how I'll feel. My office is getting empty- $30k in non-bug collectibles has already left. I miss some of it, but it's in good, caring hands. But the bugs are different- these aren't "collectibles", they aren't even- to me- "things"- they are my life. They are every trip I've taken; they are my refrigerator magnets. They remind me of great trips, and some not so great times. They were a huge financial cost, which isn't being recovered. They've been with me, some for 50+ years, with a few hundred added every year. It's like I'm disappearing slowly.

Mashed banana seems to be the old standby. No reason you can't put three small dishes in there with a variety.

So has any Delias expert ever mapped out Asia Pacific, and identified areas not well surveyed, and with topology likely to have new species?

I have never seen any birdwings in European flight houses (nor in Montreal). Interesting to see some American flight houses have some. No idea how they can manage the bureaucracy and the Cites permit prices.

Hard to find indeed ! Congrats Peter !
I am still looking for a female myself.

And the ssp from West Papua are nearly impossible to find too : https://www.delias-butterflies.com/spec ... as-callima

The Tucson Botanical Gardens also has a live butterfly exhibit (Cox Butterfly and Orchid Pavilion) that's open from October to May -

https://tucsonbotanical.org/exhibit/but ... d_source=1

I want to visit this sometime in the coming years, and will be interested to see how it compares to my local botanic garden's seasonal butterfly exhibit. Tucson's certainly appears to be a more substantial set-up, with a facility that's more dedicated to the purpose.

Thanks everyone for the great information! I didn't realize the potential difficulties of importing pupae (CITES paperwork, possible competition with overseas breeders, etc.). I'm planning to go to Arizona later this year and will probably check out Butterfly Wonderland - thanks again.

I've been seeing Nymphalis antiopa around my area, for the first time in years. Can anyone recommend a good bait recipe for this species? Also, Anaea andria are now flying. I have a bait trap that's basically of this type, but considerably more sturdy in design, which I bought from BioQuip some years ago -

Thanks to all, for your input.

Here in Canada, I think I have seen priamus nearly every time I have visited one of our few butterfly houses. More than a decade ago, I remember the butterfly house in Niagara Falls even had a display case in the atrium with larvae (feeding on some Aristolochia sp I couldn’t ID) and pupae!

Another recent addition is this Delias callima satura male from Kerowagi, Papua New Guinea.

I've seen Troides and O. priamus at Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale AZ before, but not commonly. They always seem to have Morphos and Caligos though along with the more common Pierids and Nymphalids. It's worth checking out if you are in the area.

wollastoni wrote: ↑Mon Mar 17, 2025 5:46 pm I guess seeing them in a flight house removes the "surprise" effect + their metallic blue colour is more impressive under real sun and on the forest background.

I always felt a bit ashamed taking the family to a butterfly zoo or aquarium. Both pale so much as compared to the real environment, it seems so fake, so bare. But of course, for most people that's the only opportunity to see such beautiful butterflies alive. And, I've come to appreciate watching their flights and habits, even if the colors don't do anything for me. I still laugh at Morphos and their flight paths, like highways, and how they chase around. And watching an Ornithoptera nectaring is still impressive.

Maybe seven or eight years ago they had priamus at Niagara Falls, Canada. I've seen them in US, but I'd have to search up photos to say where.

Note too, the pupae are not available constantly, so even if a butterfly zoo does favor them, it doesn't mean they will have them "today." The curators (or whatever they're called) have told me that the government people make it not worth having Ornithoptera- too much bureaucracy.

Some pictures from the flight house :

I am afraid the CITES Convention make that financially impossible. The cost of the CITES permits and the Indonesian/PNG bureaucracy make such idea impossible.
+ birdwing farmers will not want you to open a "competitive" farm abroad by selling you some chrysalids.

Chrysalids are easy to buy in Papuan villages who breed them (Manokwari, Biak...).
A Japanese friend has his own flight house with birdwings inside. Very nice to see.

This said, and I don't really know why, I have seen tons of Morpho in flight housse and they never really impressed me. But I was very impressed the first time I see some live ones in French Guiana. I guess seeing them in a flight house removes the "surprise" effect + their metallic blue colour is more impressive under real sun and on the forest background.

I have once or twice seen a Troides sp. in the flight cage at the McGuire Center, Gainesville, FL... but not every time I've visited. Never noticed an Ornithoptera sp. there, though.
jh

I enjoy visiting zoos and natural history gardens that have large greenhouse environments that feature free flying exotic butterflies. Most of the flight houses that I have visited to date showcase species primarily from central and south America (Morphos, Owls, etc.). While those species are enjoyable to observe up close, does anyone know of any flight houses in the United States where one can see living Ornithoptera? I would go out of my way quite a distance to be able to see birdwings in flight. Thanks for any suggestions.

mothman55 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 15, 2025 3:27 pm Even the more common priamus species are beautiful,
So I guess I get a little miffed when I see others dismiss these beautiful creatures as rubbish or boring.

Of course they are beautiful. And it's impressive to see a dozen female and half dozen pollen-covered males nectaring on one hibiscus plant.

That said, scientifically, they're not so interesting. Virtually all Ornithoptera are lowland (yes, I know not all), and most readily come to ground to nectar in the morning. And while each ssp is often restricted to a single island / chain, they are usually abundant.

I contrast Ornithoptera with Delias. I personally do not care for the colors of Delias, so cosmetically they have never held my interest. But I read everything I can about them, because they are so unique, distinctive in habitat, and offer a great opportunity for new discoveries.

Beauty does not always equate to interesting. From a retail collector's position surely they are beautiful. I find victoriae to be far more beautiful than alexandrae, but that's subjective. On the priamus-types, what I find most interesting is indeed the morphology, but as reflecting divergence- who the $**@ would have ever dreamed up an orange priamus-type? Green, blue, grey, those I understand. But orange? That there is such extreme color variation within the group is astonishing. And makes for a nice display.