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Re: Specimen locale - Madagascar
by adamcotton » Fri Apr 19, 2024 10:38 am
The area ~20km+ west of Moramanga town is actually a well known butterfly locality.
Adam.
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Re: Agrias butterflies
by hewi » Fri Apr 19, 2024 9:24 am
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Re: butterfly bait trap
by vabrou » Fri Apr 19, 2024 3:54 am
Using cyanide in traps that are moved/repositioned daily causes much greater opportunities for something more dangerous to happen. The majority of all my hundreds of insect traps have operated continuously non-stop for the past 42 years hear at my home property at the same locations. But also, I was able to place granular/briquettes into nearly all of my automatic-capture traps e,g, 1/4 pound (=0.1 Kg), for small bucket traps to (0.22 kg) or (.45 kg) depending on the type and size of the traps. This way I only have to add cyanide every 6-8 months to each trap (not every day). NaCn is hygroscopic and attracts H2O and the longer the cyanide is in the traps it get very wet, and its potency becomes less over time. So I have eliminated the huge amount of man-hours involved in placing the killing agent daily. I only go to each trap daily to pick up the high-quality captures.
Here e.g. in this photo of a clearwing (sesiid) moth trap, I have removed the lid and you can see the moth captures sitting on the screen, and you can see the granular NaCn in this photo below the the screen. It is necessary not to allow the insects to come in contact directly with the NaCn. The NaCn in this trap will last 6-8 months without touching it before adding more. The use of NaCn in this manner works by the humidity (H2O) normally occurring in the air slowly releases Hydrogen cyanide gas in the trap.
I want to state clearly that Hydrogen Cyanide will kill you, and is very dangerous. I have handled and used NaCn every day for the past 45 years and so far I am still alive and I have had no serious problems using this deadly chemical. I have not used any type of safety equipment, I just used common sense in handling it. Also here is a basket insert which sits above the cyanide with captures of some clearwing moths.
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Re: butterfly bait trap
by Luehdorf » Fri Apr 19, 2024 1:32 am
@vabrou how much sodium cyanide do you use per trap and in which form? Just the powder? And when using ethyl acetate how much would you use per bait trap? Thanks a lot for all the details, I cannot wait to build one here, and I will post my results in a few weeks here in the thread!vabrou wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 5:49 pm Correct, I use rolls of flexible fiberglass window screening, as I have fabricated and used a lot of these traps over the past half century. UV resistance is a must. But even this heavy duty window screening can be chewed up by hornets and bigger wasps. Over 300 of my 464 entomological publications and be freely accessed at this link, including many providing detailed instructions on how to fabricate different entomological equipment yourself: https://independent.academia.edu/VernonAntoineBrouJr
Regardless, the longest my traps operating 24 hours daily year-round and continuous here was 8 years and that was including lots of repairs. After 8 years I fabricated new traps.
As for cyanide, when someone tells you no, ignore them. Think out of the box. I have purchased dozens of 55-gallon and 50 gallon drums of sodium cyanide over the past half century. We use a lot of this because we have operated ~500 insect traps nonstop 24 hours daily 365-366 days/nights for the past 55 years. It is not necessary to buy laboratory grade chemicals, that is a waste of money and harder to obtain. Look for industrial grade, that is much easier to acquire. Your bugs will never know there are a few %% of impurities in what is killing them. The last (4) 50 kg drums of NaCn I purchased came out of Germany.
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Re: Specimen locale - Madagascar
by bugsy » Thu Apr 18, 2024 11:00 pm
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Re: Agrias butterflies
by Annarobertson1947 » Thu Apr 18, 2024 10:48 pm
Just a bit puzzled over A.pericles females , I'm seeing that lets take as an example, pericles aurantiaca and mauensis ,the females in particular are to me identticle,
There is a shift in males acrossssp but the females are very consistent generally.
Any thoughts ??
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Re: Shiiping dead insects from other countries into the USA
by vabrou » Thu Apr 18, 2024 9:15 pm
A decade or so ago,I had a National Forest Service Ranger insist that I obtain a collecting permit before he would allow me to collect on Nat. For. Service lands. I told him I did not need to obtain a permit to collect insects in the National Forest. I told him I had a copy from the Federal Government office of the National Forest Service that says I do not need a permit. He didn't care what I said. I have to request permission from him to collect. I told him ok, and the very next day contacted the Forest Service Head Office in Washington D.C. and told them the incident and requested they issue a revised letter and review this matter for all Nat. For. lands throughout the country. Two weeks later I received an apology and a new letter updating the regulations across the 50 states of the USA. Bottom line, it was found that this Forest Ranger had made up his own set of regulations without authorization for dispensing permits in order to collect insects in the National Forest. The Head Office said they would straighten out that wayward employee. Since then I never heard from him again, but I have collected in that Nat. For. area numerous dozens of times since then without any permits.
This is the situation which has similarly occurred numerous times concerning collecting and shipping regulations in the USA. Too many experts talking about things they know little to nothing about. The same situations have occurred with the postal service here in the USA. I have shipped/received insects every year since 1964.
Here I am collecting at that National Forest location.
Here is the free access link to the response. https://www.academia.edu/540099/Revisit ... _2011?sm=b
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Re: A parade of Catocala moths
by jhyatt » Thu Apr 18, 2024 7:56 pm
I have a number of coccinata with thin, short hw inner stripes, all from coastal Georgia and north Florida. I think that this is the typical southern form. But all of mine have the usual grey fw.mothman55 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 1:42 pm The one with the yellow marker is an interesting one. Also note that the inner hindwing stripe ends well before the inner margin and is narrower than all the other coccinata, as in a number of other catocala species. I believe there are named "forms" of coccinata with this different inner hindwing stripe. So perhaps this is a form of coccinata that also has melanic forewings. Or perhaps it is another species altogether??
jh
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Re: butterfly bait trap
by vabrou » Thu Apr 18, 2024 5:49 pm
Regardless, the longest my traps operating 24 hours daily year-round and continuous here was 8 years and that was including lots of repairs. After 8 years I fabricated new traps.
As for cyanide, when someone tells you no, ignore them. Think out of the box. I have purchased dozens of 55-gallon and 50 gallon drums of sodium cyanide over the past half century. We use a lot of this because we have operated ~500 insect traps nonstop 24 hours daily 365-366 days/nights for the past 55 years. It is not necessary to buy laboratory grade chemicals, that is a waste of money and harder to obtain. Look for industrial grade, that is much easier to acquire. Your bugs will never know there are a few %% of impurities in what is killing them. The last (4) 50 kg drums of NaCn I purchased came out of Germany.
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Re: Shiiping dead insects from other countries into the USA
by vabrou » Thu Apr 18, 2024 5:11 pm
Want to see extremes, look at India who have passed laws outlawing any and all collecting and research even to dissecting earthworms by surgical medical training universities. Even government forestry researchers are arrested and their collections confiscated by other India's governmental agencies. The most ridiculous thing about India is that each state in India has passed their own individual sets of regulations and laws and in their government have engaged in fistfights and rowdiness involving throwing furniture at each other attempting to discuss some of these matters.
I learned long ago to never provide any usable information to just anyone. Novice collectors fall victim to this thinking they will elevate their lack of stature by telling all they know so it get on the official record. These government people will use your information to pass regulations stopping you from further research and collecting what you may have first newly discovered.
The further answer to these unjust enforcement regulations regardless of country, such enforcement often a consequence of where you live in your respective country. Out in less populated areas, few shipments are seen and bothered with; in big cities a lot more encounters occur.
I know those who have collected and shipped (in and out) of the USA for over 60-70 years, involving millions of insect specimens across the globe, and never once obtained any permit whatsoever, even once for any reasons. Also, if your country is an enemy of the other country involved in these shipments, expect negative results and more problems.
Persons who have asked me for advice about these matters more often listen to the misinformation found on the internet and forums like this one, and who ignored my warnings later write to me, they called anyway despite what I warned them not to do, and have subsequently fallen into the rabbit-hole to government oblivion.
How do I know these things? Well I remember when highest quality insect pins sold here in the USA for $3.00/1000 US. I also remember when some bird-wing butterflies sold here in the US for $2.00/each. I also have personally collected numerous billions of insects here in my state of Louisiana. So I have actually experienced these things I speak of. I have personally shipped in and out of the US more than 700,000 insects. I'll be 75 in two days, so there is a lot of history and experiences behind my opinions. One big negative about going on record and obtaining permits is that these corrupt reprobates whether it be government or personal acquaintances you though were friends, will eventually use your permits to shut down all your future personal entomological activities.
Here in the US we have constitutionally granted free speech to express our personal opinions whether others like it or not. In some countries one can be executed or may disappear for expressing their personal or truthful opinions. Before thinking of deleting opinions given here, one should carefully consider the financial future and ability to continue business and the ramifications of preventing opinions you may personally disagree with from appearing. E.g. I have not called for the removable of decades of false and nonsensical anecdotal opinions about these matters found on this, and similar forums. I have noted when peoples opinions are deleted in these forums, they and others seeing this occurring don't bother returning, because they see that the opinions are false and one-sided.
unrelated jpg for attention
From my 2004 generic revision of the moth genus Baileya in the USA, Citation:
Brou Jr., V.A. 2004. Two new species of Baileya Grote (Nolidae: Risobinae) from the southeastern United States. Jour. Lepid. Soc. 58:94-99.
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Re: Shiiping dead insects from other countries into the USA
by kevinkk » Thu Apr 18, 2024 3:24 pm
be involved.
I have experience circumventing the process, but it's not recommended, I can only say it's a risk and if you do get your shipment, I wouldn't try it again, you may get into trouble. You as the recipient are solely responsible, not the exporter.
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Re: A parade of Catocala moths
by mothman55 » Thu Apr 18, 2024 1:42 pm
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Re: Shiiping dead insects from other countries into the USA
by wollastoni » Thu Apr 18, 2024 12:13 pm
I will let our American members give you more details.
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Re: Specimen locale - Madagascar
by adamcotton » Thu Apr 18, 2024 8:12 am
Adam.
PS. Google Maps is often very useful
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Re: A parade of Catocala moths
by billgarthe » Thu Apr 18, 2024 5:10 am
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Shiiping dead insects from other countries into the USA
by nitinra » Thu Apr 18, 2024 4:24 am
I ordered a bunch of butterflies ~300 specimens from insect-sale.com. Has anyone recently ordered insects from them into the US? Did it arrive in good condition without any issues with customs etc? Do I need a permit to get this delivered to me in the US? I will be using it for personal purposes and I am located in Montana.
TIA!
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Specimen locale - Madagascar
by bugsy » Thu Apr 18, 2024 3:37 am
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Re: Anisota virginiensis
by 58chevy » Wed Apr 17, 2024 11:51 pm
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Re: Moths of North America (MONA) Catocala
by mothman55 » Wed Apr 17, 2024 10:19 pm
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Re: Anisota virginiensis
by evra » Wed Apr 17, 2024 9:12 pm
With A. oslari I had never seen a male until I put out a virgin female and within 30 seconds, I had about a dozen males swarming me at Pena Blanca Canyon a couple of years ago. It's interesting that something can be so common and you never see it.