My backyard has no shortage of M.sexta, and our local Home Depot has
plenty of Jalapeno. I'll try again, and let you guys know.

Trehopr1 and jhyatt,
Thank you for your replies.
I did exchange the alcohol solution a few times until it became clear.
There is no problem storing any specimens in alcohol,
however, my goal was to preserve dried specimens.
I do not have freeze-drying equipment.

Update on large pupae processing: Manduca sexta pupae were euthanized by freezing, and stored in 80% ethanol for two months. The result was disastrous: upon drying, the pupae became covered with whitish flakes. It looks like the outer layer of the pupa's cuticle (epicuticle?) is peeled off. Next tim...

Thanks, livingplanet3

Does anyone have any info on the structure and possible function of a flipper-like outgrowth on the dorsal side of Limenitis lorquini chrysalis? It is present in other Limenitis species as well... As both the larvae and chrysalides are bird dropping mimics, perhaps this projection serves to give a ...

Does anyone have any info on the structure and possible
function of a flipper-like outgrowth on the dorsal side of
Limenitis lorquini chrysalis? It is present in other
Limenitis species as well.

Trehopr1, Thank you for your reply. Alcohol can certainly fix the proteins in the pupae, however, it cannot dissolve the fat. That's why I thought about acetone which can replace both water and fat (the pupae are dark brown, almost black, there is no problem with discoloration). Perhaps, this is an ...

I have a few large (50-60 mm) Sphingidae pupae that I like to preserve rather than wait for the hatching. I guess the most "scientific" way is to preserve them in alcohol or formaldehyde, however, I'd prefer keeping them pinned in the drawer. Should I immerse them first in alcohol or aceto...

The pupae of some Sphingidae possess an external structure, presumably covering the developing proboscis of future moth. It looks like it is present only in some species of Sphinginae subfamily and absent in Macroglossinae and Smerinthinae. Does anyone know the scientific name of this structure? Is ...

Santa's gift: just eclosed

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. The fly I caught does look like a Tachinid. Decades ago I experienced problems with wild-caught larvae of Deilephila elpenor: some were killed by Tachinidae larvae just before the pupation, others - by parasitoid wasps, emerging at Spring from overwintering...

I recently received the cocoons of a US Saturniid Agapema anona. They were stored in a cage, covered with a standard window netting, and supposed to eclose soon. Instead of the moths, I found three flies in the cage, about 6-7 mm long, morphologically similar to houseflies (I do not know much about ...

Yes, based on your location, you have rumiko. All the cresphontes I have seen have bright red osmeteria. This is not only based on the location. As I said, the morphology of the butterflies corresponds to the description of P. rumiko. I read the paper again: the morphology of larvae also matches P....

livingplanet3,
Thank you for your willingness to help!
It does look like a moth, my friend has probably
discovered a new species down there.

The osmeterium of P. cresphontes is bright red. Is the color difference with rumiko consistent? I cannot tell if the color difference of osmeterium between P. rumiko and P. cresphontes is consistent. The color pattern of the adult specimens I could carefully observe matches the one of P. rumiko, gi...

Can anyone ID this larva from Madagascar?

adamcotton wrote: ↑Tue Aug 22, 2023 9:06 am

lamprima2 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 22, 2023 5:18 am I can not figure out how to post the pics in the correct order.
She (judging by the size of 5.5 cm) was retracting the osmeteria.

I swapped them round for you, so now they are in the correct order.

Great photos!

Adam.

Thanks, Adam

I can not figure out how to post the pics in the correct order.
She (judging by the size of 5.5 cm) was retracting the osmeteria.

I agree: they look like exit holes.
I'll try to ask park rangers, perhaps they saw these
insects emerging.