A butterfly sampling from Bolivia

Discussion on butterflies, moths and skippers
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Trehopr1
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A butterfly sampling from Bolivia

Post by Trehopr1 »

Here is a case of self-collected Bolivian butterflies. I was
there for 2 weeks in May 1989. This case only shows some
28 species (representatives) that I encountered there however,
in total I caught a "respectable" 68 species during my time
there.

There certainly were other collectors of much more "savy" in the
ways of collecting butterflies. Some employed bait traps which
were set-out (I had none), others used urine or feces to some
success, and still others were simply MORE outgoing/adventurous
in seeking out places that (most) others would not venture or
be physically capable of.

Hence, given these factors and the fact that I also did some
night collecting of moths AND had treehoppers to keep an eye
out for --- well, I was not as focused as some of the other (true)
butterfly-men of the net !

Image

I did have an additional 2 butterfly species escape my netting
escapades (one an Agrias); so in reality I encountered 70 species
in total.

But, in summmary I believe that I probably missed out on another
"estimated" 20 species (at least).

Such, can be the incredible diversity of the tropical rainforest
when you are there at the right time and are "reasonably" ambitious
as I was....
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Re: A butterfly sampling from Bolivia

Post by daveuk »

Some really wonderful specimens there. Great that you were able to collect them yourself Trehopr. Though I saw many species on my South American travels I sadly never got to collect while I was there. A pleasure to see yours 😊
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Re: A butterfly sampling from Bolivia

Post by Trehopr1 »

Some general observances that I made on various families of butterflies (in the tropics) are the following:

Lycaenids, Riodinids, and Hesperides we're almost always noticed as (singleton's) and you had better make your first "swish" count or your quarry would be gone for good.

Satyrines naturally only liked shaded places, forest edges, or marshy zones AND they were still best seen in either early morning or late in the day. Tough customers....

Papilionidae pretty much had to be caught at flower or mud puddles --- otherwise, their erratic flights or soaring capabilities made them impossible to net on the wing !

Morphinae had to be "lured" with a blue lure of some type or you had to stand in a natural "flyway" utilized by them.

Pieridae were varied in habits but could be had best at mud puddles or at flower; otherwise the tangle of brush just got in the way....

Nymphalids could be had with a variety of techniques but, certainly bait traps were the best way to go in getting some of the (tough customers) such as Agrias/Prepona along with some of the odd genera you might never see along forest trails.

When all you have is net in hand and some kill bottles (as I did) your every sense is on overload.
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Re: A butterfly sampling from Bolivia

Post by 58chevy »

Nice captures, Trehopr. You did well. Did you have any problems with customs on your return?
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Re: A butterfly sampling from Bolivia

Post by Trehopr1 »

Hey 58chevy,
Fortunately, back then I was on a group Lepidopterist trip organized by Dr. Tom Emmel (Florida). He was able to secure all of the necessary permits we needed to not only exit Bolivia but, to enter the U.S. (problem free).

His expertise, notoriety, and unassuming "gentlemanly" manner pretty much allowed him carte blanche at most any country he took group trips to.

He took groups to the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Kenya, and Thailand (just to name a few). One of the last trips he organized was planning to go to the Solomon Islands; though, I am uncertain if enough participants (took part) for a group to go.

Of coarse, the more lavish and expensive trips such as Kenya and Thailand were quite a bit more demanding on the pocketbook and were in the neighborhood of $4,000 + per person. These occurred in the middle to late '90s and were beyond my means by then. His South American visits were by far the most popular and affordable so some of them were offered multiple times.

His repeated visits to a particular location in Brazil proved that spot was the richest place in butterfly diversity of any where he had ever taken a group. He did a write-up of it in the Lep. Soc. news in the early to mid 1990s. I have the copy of it somewhere....
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Re: A butterfly sampling from Bolivia

Post by jellybean »

You as a U.S. citizen needed a permit to enter the U.S? What kind? Maybe you were referring to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Declaration Form 3-177? That requires a listing of the names of the species you are importing. Were you able to provide the names during your return from Bolivia?
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Re: A butterfly sampling from Bolivia

Post by Trehopr1 »

As I mentioned in my previous post Dr Emmel took care of all the documentation permits needed (for everyone) on my group trip.

That was 1989 and I doubt very much he had to jump through the hoops (that he would have to now do) if he were living.

That's all there is to my story....
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Re: A butterfly sampling from Bolivia

Post by livingplanet3 »

So many great butterfly species in Bolivia -

https://www.youtube.com/@pedromariposa/ ... ery=Yungas
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