This specimen was caught in the same location as the previous questions I posted. I initially identified this as C. gigantea, as it doesn't have an obvious double pink ring around the VHW spot and there are no brown satellite spots. However, one of the differing features between philodice vitabunda ...

These Colias p. vitabunda were flying with the C. gigantea? from my previous post. (USA: Alaska: Dalton Hwy MP 302, nr Slope Mountain' el.655m 68.7180°N; 149.0137°W, 06 August 2024) The males are fairly obvious C. p. vitabunda but the female has me wondering. Anyone have an opinion on the ID? The on...

I am trying to determine if these are Colias gigantea, gigantea inupiat, or C. philodice vitabunda. USA: Alaska: Dalton Hwy MP 302, nr Slope Mountain el.655m 68.7180°N; 149.0137°W; August 06, 2024 They were captured 20 miles from the type locality of C. gigantea inupiat, but that ssp is supposed to ...

Impressive ! But I would be afraid to damage some scales or to have vein marks. One aesthetic advice : put the HW a little bit lower like this one from Bicbugs Luehdorfia-japonica.jpg I prefer pulling the hindwing up more, aesthetically. But for species with tails, I make sure the tails do not stic...

entomologist, would you consider making a video of your pinning methods? I am sure both the shingling and the pinning multiple specimens under a single paper would be of interest to many people. Personally, I do shingle sometimes, but I always use a separate strip of paper for each wing...clearly yo...

Does anyone recognize this moth? It is similar to Orthosia hibisci but with less pattern on the wings. It is unusually common this spring in South Central Alaska, despite a generally poor spring for moths.

This is interesting but isn't there a risk of breaking antennas, head or legs in process of injection dry specimen? BTW I always use ammonia to kill butterflies which are resistant to pinch and some moths that can be handle ( sphinx, silk moths ) Do you inject the insects to kill them with ammonia?

I've experience a similar (or same) with Catocala moths. It's the same muscles, so I'd think it's the same issue. Catocala dispatched by dropping (knocking) into isopropyl alcohol will stiffen the wing muscles such that they cannot be set. I've found no method to subsequently relax these muscles. P...

I wanted to start a thread for Alaskan collecting reports. Feel free to contact me if you are planning to visit this year. As of now, we are having a ridiculously late spring. However the Aglais milberti (Milbert's Tortoiseshell) came out of hibernation on time about 3 weeks ago, and are flying in u...

I didn't know about the white monarchs...quick google search fixed that. Now I have a new goal next time I visit Hawaii. I did catch a few monarchs on Molokai and they appeared identical to mainland USA forms to me.

mothman55 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:14 pm I am going to Kauai in late January, I will look for the black witch there.

Any luck finding them on Kauai?

Molokai

I was recently in Hawaii and surprised by the large numbers of black witch moths. They were frequently seen dayflying, and would come to fruit bait or lights almost as soon as the sun set. They appear to host on the introduced and ubiquitous mesquite trees, so they don't lack for food.