This discussion on Agrias has evolved into an important topic on global travel collecting, I hope it's split out on its own. John Shuey's initial post on the topic is loaded with gold, and I'd advise any potential traveler to parse every sentence. Global travel has never been easier. There are airfi...

Congratulations on finishing school! It's quite a bit of work and time.

My suggestion if I may- don't buy commercially, use that money to go there. You're young enough to learn to handle the hardships and maximize collecting efforts. Why buy one when you can catch ten?

Paul- iNaturalist tries to stay on top of systematics, but sometimes there can be a delay. sara https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=59124 stella https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=900256 all Anthocheris julia https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=900255

Danaus plexippus is all over the place.

I have captures from several locations in Solomon Islands.

University of Hawai'i on Oahu has a light morph, and on Maui can be found a dark morph.

Hello all! Does anyone in the United States have any experience with purchasing insects at this fair and then importing them to the US? I would really like to go but I am not exactly sure about the process of exporting from France. Of course I would use my American import license and fill out a for...

Chuck, I direct you to view our 30-year sphingids of Louisiana study. .... taken in fermenting bait traps included Sphinx kalmiae Neurn., Enyo lugubris (L.), Sphecodina abhottii (Swainson), A. floridensis, Darapsa myron, and Darapsa pholus (Cram.). We captured several specimens each of species not ...

Thanks thus far for the input. I'm rather caught in the middle- I like to keep things short, which at times requires the reader's understanding that there are exceptions. If I have to write something like "chances of finding Papilio multicaudata east of the Mississippi are .00001%" for eve...

Vernon, what types of Sphingids do you get at bait traps? What do they like best? Thanks.

When to use absolutes? "You NEVER run the vacuum!" This is hyperbole; I ran the vacuum two months ago. And so, in research discussions one will rarely see "always", "never", or other absolutes. One cannot accurately say, for example, that a Goliath beetle has never been...

In collaborating on the description of the Midsummer Tiger Swallowtail as a distinct species, @eurytides requested that I describe the ranges of the eastern Tiger Swallowtail species- glaucus , canadensis , and appalachiensis . Ironically, despite the taxa being large, showy, and first described by ...

When I was a kid- younger than 10- I wrote him for a price list. It was all hand written, and not knowing any better, I closed with "Love, Chuck." I quickly realized that was inappropriate, but wasn't going to rewrite the whole letter, so sent it. I never got a price list. I wonder why. Sa...

I was reading an enjoyable article on Danaus gilippu s in LepSoc Journal Spring 2024 when the following map caught my eye: https://c.l3n.co/i/OjTVL0.md.jpeg Huh? Everyone knows that Danaus plexippus breeds all the way up into Canada. Right? The purpose of the map is to demonstrate the lack of compet...

Frustrated that all of my specimen photos are either too dark (cloudy day) or have a shadow, I broke down and bought a ring light. This one is low-end, and you get what you pay for. It wasn't as shown on the box, and it isn't what's in the instructions. Some parts discussed in the manual have been v...

Ha, John it never occurred to me that the book would be ESPECIALLY interesting and useful for those living in Virginia! Yes, it's sad to now look back and see how so many species are extirpated from the lands they once occupied. I did find it interesting that in the early 20th century they reported ...

https://c.l3n.co/i/O8meMi.md.jpeg I pulled this book out to research something, and got caught reading it. I'd forgotten just how wonderfully chock full it is with information. It's not just about Virginia's butterflies- it goes into extensive observations by Mr. and Mrs. Clark and other researcher...

eurytides wrote: ↑Wed Mar 27, 2024 4:21 pm Chuck, what happens with the genus Amphion? I thought this was still legit?

My error- old age. Amphion is valid, the species name was changed from nessus to floridensis. It's still nessus to me. I ain't changing any labels either.

They are attractive, but here they are so common as to be a horrible nuisance...just like their host plant.

I think lisimpsonia is a great idea! John Tennent told me he tried to get Polyura thane pushed through; the reviewers couldn't figure out what he was up to, but knew he was up to something, so wouldn't approve. Snobs. I threatened to name a new butterfly tennentisapennis but he said he'd kill me. Fo...

All impressive displays! I wish I had the space and time for that.

The white underwings are in this area locally common, depending on where the trees are. Where I run lights now I have yet to see one.

LepSoc annual meeting 14-18 July 2024 at Cornell University in Ithaca.

Who's going?

There will be day field trips, not sure about night. High season for the MidSummer Tiger Swallowtail and Poanes massasoit.