InsectNet forum

I'm new to the forum. Can anyone ID this species for me. Taken at a light sheet August 1980 Just south of the Guacamayo Bridge, Belize C.A.
Thanks in anticipation. Steve

FINCHY wrote: Mon Aug 07, 2023 10:20 am I'm new to the forum. Can anyone ID this species for me. Taken at a light sheet August 1980 Just south of the Guacamayo Bridge, Belize C.A.
Thanks in anticipation. Steve...

Probably a species of Taygetis -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taygetis

Hopefully Jshuey will be able to identify it.

Adam.

adamcotton wrote: Mon Aug 07, 2023 9:49 pm Hopefully Jshuey will be able to identify it.

Adam.

Indeed I can. The pointy FWs are reasonably diagnostic - Taygetis mermeria excavata.

The location you took it at south of the Guacamayo Bridge is an amazing place to collect. Broadleaf forest on mostly limestone on the south side, pine / oak / grassland on granite on the north side, and a river runs down the seam between the two types of bed rock. We always spent a couple of days here sampling when we had the time because of the diversity of habitats.


John

Thank you all for such quick responses.
I thought it was from that group but could never find a picture of the species that matched this one. I thought it may have been something unusual due to the time it was in flight, approx. 23.30 local.
Indeed a marvellous place John. I had the good fortune to be able to spend many, many very happy days/weeks collectign in that area and well beyond, during 1979, 1980 and 1982 whilst in the RAF. Judging from the images on Google Earth the area has changed dramatically since my time there.
Once again many thanks.
Steve

FINCHY wrote: Tue Aug 08, 2023 3:58 pm Thank you all for such quick responses.
I thought it was from that group but could never find a picture of the species that matched this one. I thought it may have been something unusual due to the time it was in flight, approx. 23.30 local.
Indeed a marvellous place John. I had the good fortune to be able to spend many, many very happy days/weeks collectign in that area and well beyond, during 1979, 1980 and 1982 whilst in the RAF. Judging from the images on Google Earth the area has changed dramatically since my time there.
Once again many thanks.
Steve

Let me tell you a story about the first time I "discovered" this place. For context, it was in the early 2000's, right after the Blair Witch Project was released. Spooky movie in its day - right? We parked by the bridge, and I wandered up slope by myself. There were all these weird trails meandering into the forest, and I started exploring these to collect. About 50 meters in, I found this weird religious altar with seats. The altar was a podium made with lashed together (with vines) small diameter trees and a rough sawn top. Benches made from lashed together split trees. Obviously someone spoke to a rapt audience in the middle of this forest. Looked like about 20 people were in the congregation.

Then, on another trail, I found two old niches made from mud and sticks, like you would use to shelter an idol or make sacrifices in. They were about 2 foot tall, with an oval opening in the front, and a hole in the roof. One was in state of decay, the other looked pretty damn fresh. On yet another trail, I found another altar complex in really bad condition, this one with some old, palm leaf covered shelters over the seats and podium. At this point, the hair was standing up on the back of my neck so I got the hell out of there!

Steve already knows where this is going - but for the uninitiated , it turns out this was the "jungle training" center for the British military. Once or twice a year, squads would camp here for a few weeks, learning how to survive in the bush. The altars were literally classrooms, rebuilt regularly so that people knew how to build stuff using a machete and what ever was available. The niches were mud-stick cooking ovens. Steve can probably tell you more...

It still exists today, but the Belize Defense Force is the primary user now. The trails are not as well maintained (because they mostly train just up the road on the 2-track to Las Cuevas), and they built a metal-roofed classroom on the edge of the forest. The last time I was there, it was still a great place to catch bugs.

John

Jshuey wrote: Wed Aug 09, 2023 5:16 pm
Let me tell you a story about the first time I "discovered" this place. ... the "jungle training" center for the British military. .

Since we're on Belize and jungle training, here's my story.

I first visited in 1994, before the crime and cruise ships. It was idyllic- a small, safe country. I wanted to collect insects, but didn't know the permit process, so my host made a phone call and an hour later on the Fax machine I had a permit. That's how things were done.

Mostly I collected around New River Lagoon and Ambergris Caye. There were many species of butterfly one might see once or twice, and get lucky to capture. There were, of course, many species that were very common.

Seaside homes- big, beautiful homes right on the Ambergris waterfront were just being developed, priced between US$40,000 and $60,000. I did not buy one.

Everyone was friendly. Everything was relaxed. Great place. The British jungle training guys could be spotted off hours easily because they were the formerly-pasty white skinned guys now lobster red.


I returned IIRC in 2003. It was a changed place. Belize City was crime ridden, including serious crimes. It had spread throughout much of the country as well. People were wary of outsiders, not as friendly anymore.

On Ambergris Caye, totally safe in 1994, I happened to be in a residential area when a homeowner shot at an intruder. I was at a bar on Ambergris when some locals had a beef with another local, and three of them slammed the guy's head into the bar, right next to me. He wasn't moving when the security showed up and dragged him away.

At another pub on Ambergris the Brit special forces guys (who never really did seem to learn anything about the jungle) were well drunk and making a lot of noise about Americans. Long story short, I got into it with three of them, and after a brief melee we were all spread across the floor; I had a piece of one's hat in my teeth. Those three and I called it even, and became "buddies". The next morning I ran across them not far from the main drag, they were seeking shelter (somewhere to hide) since they'd stolen a golf cart and the authorities were after them.

Now, locals tell me it's not very nice there. I'm sure it's much safer well outside Belize City and in eco-lodge areas, and wouldn't expect any issues for any collectors who have the least bit of savvy.