Search found 30 matches

by Papilio_indra
Mon Feb 19, 2024 1:27 am
Forum: Lepidoptera
Topic: Question about pinning spread Lepidoptera
Replies: 11
Views: 500

Re: Question about pinning spread Lepidoptera

Here's an update - and thanks to everyone for their helpful suggestions! Using magnification I did in fact find that the smaller specimens (coppers, hairstreaks, some Pierieds, and most Satyrids) were pinned at one time. All of the others had not been pinned. I decided to experiment with an 82 year ...
by Papilio_indra
Sat Feb 17, 2024 5:21 pm
Forum: Lepidoptera
Topic: Question about pinning spread Lepidoptera
Replies: 11
Views: 500

Re: Question about pinning spread Lepidoptera

Thanks Panacanthus for that suggestion, although I did look initially for holes in the thorax I will check more closely this afternoon to see if they were in fact pinned at one time. These specimens were prepared by a teenager during WW2 who probably didn't have access to, or couldn't afford, insect...
by Papilio_indra
Sat Feb 17, 2024 3:21 am
Forum: Lepidoptera
Topic: Question about pinning spread Lepidoptera
Replies: 11
Views: 500

Re: Question about pinning spread Lepidoptera

Thanks Trehopr1 for the excellent suggestion. I'll get some "0" and smaller size pins and give it a try. The initial piercing with a fine pin might create a "pilot hole" for a larger sized pin that is more suitable for use on bigger specimens (Nymphalids, swallowtails, etc.). Tha...
by Papilio_indra
Fri Feb 16, 2024 10:42 pm
Forum: Lepidoptera
Topic: Question about pinning spread Lepidoptera
Replies: 11
Views: 500

Question about pinning spread Lepidoptera

I'm in the process of cataloging a western U.S. butterfly and skipper collection that was made from 1937 to 1945. All of the specimens were spread and layered between layers of cotton in boxes in order to conserve space. I would like to pin many of the specimens and transfer them to Cornell style dr...
by Papilio_indra
Mon Jan 15, 2024 6:44 pm
Forum: Show Your Favorite Specimen
Topic: Reared Australian butterflies
Replies: 0
Views: 6935

Reared Australian butterflies

This small selection is part of a group of butterflies that I mail ordered from the Queensland Butterfly Company back in the late 1970's. They've been displayed in a Riker mount for the last 45 years. I visited the company in 1980 and had a pleasant discussion with the owner, Garry Sankowski, after ...
by Papilio_indra
Tue Nov 14, 2023 12:49 am
Forum: Legal issues
Topic: Transporting insects out of the U.S. in airline luggage
Replies: 7
Views: 5275

Re: Transporting insects out of the U.S. in airline luggage

Thank you for those links to USFWS. My friend will be flying non-stop from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam and unfortunately, SLC is not a designated port for wildlife inspections. I'll let him know his options and go from there. Again I appreciate the help.
by Papilio_indra
Mon Nov 13, 2023 4:15 pm
Forum: Legal issues
Topic: Transporting insects out of the U.S. in airline luggage
Replies: 7
Views: 5275

Re: Transporting insects out of the U.S. in airline luggage

Thank you Chuck, I appreciate the info. I was hoping that there would be a quick and easy option for the occasional overseas collector who visits the U.S. and wants to take some specimens back home with them. If the specimens need to be inspected at a certain airport before departure then this requi...
by Papilio_indra
Sun Nov 12, 2023 1:43 am
Forum: Legal issues
Topic: Transporting insects out of the U.S. in airline luggage
Replies: 7
Views: 5275

Transporting insects out of the U.S. in airline luggage

A friend of mine in Europe will be vacationing in the U.S. next spring and I am planning to meet with him near the end of his trip. He is interested in purchasing papered specimens from my collection of American butterflies and will carry them home in his airline luggage. My question is, does he nee...
by Papilio_indra
Sat Oct 14, 2023 12:19 am
Forum: Legal issues
Topic: The future of the hobby
Replies: 21
Views: 6373

Re: The future of the hobby

As mentioned by others, the hobby of collecting and preserving insects is on the decline in the U.S. as fewer young people today are taking up the hobby. There are however many individuals that instead rear and release (or keep as pets) various insects. Many of the milkweed patches in my area are re...
by Papilio_indra
Tue Jun 20, 2023 3:51 pm
Forum: Open Topics
Topic: Idea for rarities collectors??
Replies: 12
Views: 1124

Re: Idea for rarities collectors??

The institutions that I'm involved with would be glad to have amateur entomologists and citizen scientists spread material for them and provide excess specimens as an incentive however they don't have the space to store additional prepared material. Most of their storage drawers and cabinets are alr...
by Papilio_indra
Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:09 pm
Forum: Insect Art
Topic: A hobby of "small game hunting"....
Replies: 21
Views: 3831

Re: A hobby of "small game hunting"....

The original painting of "The Collector" shown at the top of this thread is available for purchase if you have some excess funds: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/stevan-do ... post-cover.
by Papilio_indra
Fri Feb 03, 2023 1:35 am
Forum: Legal issues
Topic: Canada to US?
Replies: 15
Views: 4091

Re: Canada to US?

P. indra kaibabensis is protected within the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park, along with all of the other species of Lepidoptera within the park. I believe that outside of the park it is not protected.
by Papilio_indra
Fri Sep 16, 2022 3:49 pm
Forum: Lepidoptera
Topic: Speyeria nokomis
Replies: 9
Views: 651

Re: Speyeria nokomis

Putting female fritillaries in a #8 brown paper bag is the most common method for collecting ova from these butterflies. Some people put a few dried violet stems and leaves in the bottom of the bag as well but it's not necessary. Sometimes they'll lay eggs on the dried violets but usually not. The b...
by Papilio_indra
Wed Sep 14, 2022 11:17 pm
Forum: Lepidoptera
Topic: Speyeria nokomis
Replies: 9
Views: 651

Speyeria nokomis

On August 30 I collected this female S. nokomis in northeastern Utah and set her up using the paper bag method to obtain 40+ ova. One larva hatched today and the rest should follow tomorrow. She is from a colony known for it's larger than normal sized adults and I hope to rear these through to adult...
by Papilio_indra
Sat Aug 13, 2022 9:47 pm
Forum: Insect identification
Topic: Giant female scale insect
Replies: 3
Views: 452

Re: Giant female scale insect

Thank you both very much, Eleodes and livingplanet3, I would have never guessed that this was associated with a Tabanid fly.
by Papilio_indra
Fri Aug 12, 2022 9:47 pm
Forum: Insect identification
Topic: Giant female scale insect
Replies: 3
Views: 452

Giant female scale insect

I found this scale insect while obtaining cuttings for my Limenitis rearing projects. The insect is 13 mm long and is attached to a leaf from a sand bar willow, Salix exigua. Location is northern Utah, USA. Any ideas as to its identity? Thanks.
by Papilio_indra
Wed Aug 03, 2022 10:44 pm
Forum: Insect Photography & Video
Topic: Your best live insect picture !
Replies: 18
Views: 2736

Re: Your best live insect picture !

Taken this morning near Tremonton, Utah, Limenitis archippus lahontani (male).
by Papilio_indra
Mon Aug 01, 2022 11:45 pm
Forum: Show Your Favorite Specimen
Topic: Self caught specimens
Replies: 12
Views: 655

Re: Self caught specimens

Thanks, most L. phlaeas populations in the western U.S. are at high elevations. I believe all L. phlaeas in California are found above 9,000 feet.
by Papilio_indra
Mon Aug 01, 2022 10:14 pm
Forum: Show Your Favorite Specimen
Topic: Self caught specimens
Replies: 12
Views: 655

Re: Self caught specimens

I'll add another small copper to the thread: a reared example from a gravid female I caught in southern Utah (USA) from 11,500 feet elevation. This population of Lycaena phlaeas was discovered in 1990. It has not yet been assigned a subspecies name.
by Papilio_indra
Sun Jul 31, 2022 5:53 pm
Forum: Show Your Favorite Specimen
Topic: Papilio weymeri
Replies: 4
Views: 351

Papilio weymeri

These three examples (two females, one male) are from the Manus area of the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea. In order, they were collected in Nov. 1966, Dec. 1969, and Nov. 1968. Their size is impressive, with the forewing length of the first female being 79 mm. I've wondered why this species ha...