Hey Billg,

Very nice to hear that you have actually picked up a couple of specimens of C. briseis here. I don't know anyone else that has....

Could they have been strays ?
Were their colors too fresh to have been that so, maybe it is just rarely encountered ?

Wonderful series of C. briseis mothman55 showing the wonderful variation that occurs !

The first and second relicta in your photograph are certainly quite unique in their own right. Some wonderful self-collected specimens....

I read an article a while back that said academics generally have a "window" of intellectual productivity. The article mentioned that between the ages of our mid-20s (fresh out of schooling) and up to and including our early 50s most people are at the peak of their personal intellectual ca...

The concept of doing Mona fascicles these days is "bewildering" to me. It seems a concept of a different time --- when people's lives were less impacted by fewer things pulling them in all sorted directions, fewer species were known, and when the "human nature" of people was more...

Here is a lovely medium-sized species which is found in our upper northeast region of the US. Some western records exist as well and are associated mostly with the Rocky mountains and nearby ranges. The Ribbed or Briseis underwing (Catocala briseis) is a very nice boldly marked/patterned species. Th...

Outstanding specimen !

Very nicely done on the spreading !

Thank you Bill for the comparison photograph. I zoomed in on the lower specimens forewing "wing pattern" and I can see many points where certain markings, line squiggles, blank cells are all pretty much in the same place except that it is a VERY melanic appearing individual. It could be th...

Another underwing species which shows considerable variation is the Tearful Underwing (Catocala lacrymosa). I will try to periodically post pictures of some of my most interesting examples of this species but, for now this will be a start. Here I offer a quite (typical) example of the species which ...

A lesser seen/encountered variation of C. relicta is this one. Unlike, the much more salt/peppered look of (form) phrynia this one seems to have more "stabilized" boundaries where the black/white meet. This is just my humble opinion and for all I know this (could) be another form with a na...

Surely, one of THE most respendent and unusual catocala species to encounter in northern N. America is this one: The White Underwing (Catocala relicta) https://i.imgur.com/dk8PdpL.jpeg The common name derives from it being a white-colored member of the Catocala clan. This is quite unique as most all...

Very nicely put Billg. Chuck was a long time friend of mine for 27 years. I have much to admire, appreciate, and forever treasure (in my lifetime) through his efforts. He was a purveyor of Natural History artifacts for at least 43 years ! In my prepared eulogy at his funeral I remarked at its end th...

Hello Tim,, Well, now that you have heard from both "sides of the aisle" on this topic you will find your path somewhere in the middle ---- I hope. There has been some good suggestions made here of how NOT TO LOOK LIKE A TOURIST and of how to stay "below the radar" of general att...

Well, just keep in mind that unless you have an "honest" guide or very good friend who works for YOUR best interests AND aligns all the proper "ducks in a row" (i.e. good lodging, meals, transportation, documents/permits,); then you will be ALL ON YOUR OWN. You will be in a forei...

Perhaps, lamprima2 just let it "fix" itself for a little while in the 90% alcohol and then put a pin in it and let it dry. The older cuticle of the pupal case should be thick enough and strong enough to be just fine and in time the insides will dry out and harden. Then you can have your pi...

Hello Tim ! Your questions are INDEED well founded. I do not agree with the relative "ease" that some members bandy-about when it comes to doing a foreign trip these days ! This is NOT the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s when travel abroad was VERY different. The world has changed exponentially in ...

Hello lamprima2, Very sorry to hear that your experiment was disastrous. I was afraid that using any man-made solvents would severely dry out or damage the test subject. This is why I suggested using 90% rubbing alcohol. At the museum where I worked for 8 years we stored many things in 70% alcohol b...

Hi Paul, Maybe contact Mikeh. He seems to travel all over that region. Probably one of the most knowledgeable Western collectors regarding where certain butterflies can be found. Evra might know as well but, he seems to collect the more southerly portions of the West in much drier habitats. He is ce...

Hello Tim ! Congratulations are in order for finishing up your schooling. 🙏🎉☺️ Very nice to see you once again posting some of your acquisitions. Have missed your presence here on the forum but, hope to see more of you here now as youthful collectors help to invigorate our forum ! A. narcissus is ce...

There is a species of moth which has evolved the cryptic forewing coloration of underwing moths (Catocala) along with the "flash coloration" aspect of the hindwings. It is commonly known as the Locust Underwing (Euparthenos nubilis) as its larval host is black locust AND it is the only mem...

VERY nice species drawers Billg ! 🎉🎉🙏 I knew your interest in these was strong so I was very much hoping that you would chime-in with some captures of your own. If time allows I would love to see your holdings of concumbens, cara, and carrissima. Of course, any rare/scarce species which you have enc...