No, but awesome that Actias luna is a butterfly.

Hey Chuck, my 2 cents is to wait. Like I said before, actual reviewers will be more nitpicky than me! Many times, it’s not necessary to have something conclusive in order to publish. You can publish anything that’s new. However, your case is a bit different. It’s not that you have completed one proj...

Very well said Chuck.

Joanae and polyxenes are not reliably separated visually. How many of those old specimens “identified” as joanae but look like polyxenes are actually joanae?

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/artic ... ne.0141882

Chuck, see here regarding P. joanae.

Here is a true island endemic. Papilio erithonoides. Madagascar It resembles closely Papilio demodocus commonly encountered on the African continent but also found in Madagascar Nice specimen! Of the demodocus clade, I've only ever able to obtain demodocus and demoleus. I've long watched for an opp...

Which island were you on?

A few years ago I visited San Francisco in December. Found some wild fennel and within a few minutes, I located an L5 zelicaon larva.

Sorry, I meant to say wild fennel, not dill.

Pupae are well hidden and pure luck if you find them. Larvae are best found on their host plants. For example, P. zelicaon can be found on dill which grows wild in many places in California.

I agree. Shipping ova and pupae across the border these days is next to impossible.

I am surprised you had such a high mortality rate. I have raised Vanessa atalanta before and they are not gregarious. You find single eggs on the leaves.

I have seen pictures of hybrids. They happen but are rare.

Yes, quaking aspen. You can see it in one of the rearing pictures lol.

I would have to check my records for food plant, but I am pretty sure I used quaking aspen. It’s not a hybrid. The eggs are from Sault Ste. Marie. Nothing but L. arthemis arthemis there.

I have never seen a hybrid either. I also found that specimens I raised were larger and had more blue sheen compared to ones I’ve seen in the wild, especially the females.

Thanks for that explanation John. I was not aware of these nuances. Thanks for educating me.

Yeah you have to be careful if paying money for specimens on Facebook. I am not sure many scammers will trade for common species.

I would add that Facebook also has a bunch of groups where you can make contacts.

Agree. One stray in an area with some arbitrary human made border and it’s critically endangered. If it’s not seen in 50 years, it’s extirpated.