No love for Chilasa?

[Chuck]

I find it odd that there's virtually no discussion on Chilasa. It's an amazing genus, with some Danaidae mimics. I searched and found but on mention of Chilasa since this site was refreshed.

Anyway, I got down this path because I was checking to see if Cornell had any Chilasa toboroi straatmani or needed a pair. So I dug out some set specimens, location Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands.



Then I got to wondering what this species costs these days...OUCH! 610 Euros for an A- pair! https://www.theinsectcollector.com/acat ... idae2.html

With China and Vietnam revealing so many new species/ subspecies, I've not seen anything new on Chilasa. Anyone?

[adamcotton]

I don't think there are new Chilasa species in China or Vietnam. The last one named from Vietnam was imitata Monastyrskii & Devyatkin, 2003 from S Vietnam. It was described as a species, but is only a subspecies of epycides. Yoshino (2008) described epycides ssp. yamabuki from Zhongdian, NW Yunnan.

Adam.

[adamcotton]

Genus/subgenus Chilasa, depending on opinion, is indeed rather interesting. I assume that straatmani mimics a local Alcides species (day-flying Uraniidae).

Somewhere I saw the name tolei for the toboroi from Malaita, but I have no record of the original description. I suppose it is a nomen nudum or catalogue name.

Adam.

[Chuck]

It would be interesting if C toboroi from Malaita was a different ssp. I'd not heard of a capture, but it was/ is bound to happen. Toboroi does mimic Alcides in Bougainville, so presumably the same relationship is found on the other islands.