Agrias butterflies

[wollastoni]

it is the typical Agrias sahlkei sahlkei of French Guiana and the Obidos region in Brazil.

A. sahlkei sahlkei Guyane franc. - Kopie.JPG

This specimen must be the most perfect Agrias sahlkei I have ever seen. Congrats Manfred !
BTW I have a lot of Agrias sahlkei from Obidos and they do look different than the one from FG. I have a serie of them with blue FW (represented also in Floquet's books), does this blue form exist in FG ?

[wollastoni]

I've been looking for a specimen of this particular form for quite some time, but have never seen one for sale.

There are some available now, see on Collector's Secret : https://www.collector-secret.com/insect ... fly/agrias

[livingplanet3]

I've been looking for a specimen of this particular form for quite some time, but have never seen one for sale.

There are some available now, see on Collector's Secret : https://www.collector-secret.com/insect ... fly/agrias

Many thanks for the link!

[hewi]

BTW I have a lot of Agrias sahlkei from Obidos and they do look different than the one from FG. I have a serie of them with blue FW (represented also in Floquet's books), does this blue form exist in FG ?

Yes, the forms with blue in the forewing and hindwing also occur in French Guiana.
Le Moult described a lot of these forms in 1925.

[wollastoni]

Thanks a lot, Manfred.

[livingplanet3]

I don't have very many hybrid butterflies, but I recently obtained this nice pair of Agrias c. lugens X Agrias b. lachaumei, captive-bred (Satipo, Peru), which I chose from a sampling of around ten pairs -

Agrias c. lugens X Agrias b. lachaumei (hybrid) (M).jpg (281.98 KiB) Viewed 5565 times

Agrias c. lugens X Agrias b. lachaumei (hybrid) (F).jpg (351.81 KiB) Viewed 5565 times

I also have this Agrias b. lachaumei X Prepona dexamenus hybrid male, captive-bred (Satipo, Peru) -

Agrias b. lachaumei X Prepona dexamenus (hybrid)_1.jpg (206.53 KiB) Viewed 5565 times

[Trehopr1]

Very nice indeed !

I too only very recently purchased three captive bred hybrids. I have yet to spread them. I know I have at least one of those lachaumei/dexamenus males.

I'm going to give Olivier's vodka relaxation method a go on mine. If luck is with me I too will have some nice specimens to share here.

[Chuck]

Do agrias floresce flouresce florece however you spell it, under UV? Do they reflect other spectrums when observed at an angle, as some Troides do?

[livingplanet3]

Very nice indeed !

I too only very recently purchased three captive bred hybrids. I have yet to spread them. I know I have at least one of those lachaumei/dexamenus males.

From the same dealer, I also got two male specimens of Agrias C. lugens X Prepona dexamenus. Here's an example of this hybrid -


https://bruceblue.smugmug.com/Folder-of ... -wPggDpT/A

I'm going to give Olivier's vodka relaxation method a go on mine. If luck is with me I too will have some nice specimens to share here.

I plan to try this method soon as well. Many of my Agrias were purchased pre-spread, so at least I won't have to worry about personally mounting those. The vast majority of my collection however (both Lepidoptera and Coleoptera), is not yet spread, so I'm really hoping that the vodka technique will work well for me also, and perhaps I can get all of my specimens prepared sooner rather than later!

[Trehopr1]

Now that one has always been ESPECIALLY striking with those blue bands in the forewings. It was also the first (I believe) captive bred hybrid produced for the hobbyist; perhaps four years ago.

However, I don't own one because it has always fetched pricing in the $200 plus range for anything exceptional.

I don't religiously watch the Agrias classifieds as I am generally not in the market for these financially but, in time I hope to acquire at least four or five more for diversity.

[livingplanet3]

Now that one has always been ESPECIALLY striking with those blue bands in the forewings. It was also the first (I believe) captive bred hybrid produced for the hobbyist; perhaps four years ago.

True, it does seem that this particular hybrid only just appeared a few years ago; I can't recall having seen them prior to then. While the commercial production of Agrias and Prepona hybrids to supply collectors may be a relatively recent phenomenon, certainly, captive-bred hybrids have been around for a while now, with the following report from 2008 being one example -

http://www.troplep.org/TLR/18-1/Furtado-Hyb.pdf

However, I don't own one because it has always fetched pricing in the $200 plus range for anything exceptional.

I don't religiously watch the Agrias classifieds as I am generally not in the market for these financially but, in time I hope to acquire at least four or five more for diversity.

The pricing on various captive-bred Agrias / Prepona hybrids has come down somewhat since they first entered the collector market, but yes - exceptional examples that have unusual colors / patterns do typically command rather high prices, especially large females. I've had to restrict myself to mostly specimens that are in the lower-to-medium range, but even these are still quite impressive. An advantage of these butterflies being produced in captivity of course, is that they have no flight wear.

[wollastoni]

I'm going to give Olivier's vodka relaxation method a go on mine

Be sure to practice on small Nymphalidae or Pieridae before trying on Agrias.

[livingplanet3]

I'm going to give Olivier's vodka relaxation method a go on mine

Be sure to practice on small Nymphalidae or Pieridae before trying on Agrias.

Absolutely - I will start with some common, low-value specimens before working with any important ones.

[hewi]

there is a new subspecies of Agrias narcissus.
The Manaos region population has been separated from the nominate population A. narcissus narcissus from the Obidos and Guyana regions.
The new subspecies is called: Agrias narcissus chrysotaenia SÉRAPHIN, 2022. Gilles Séraphin took up the old form name chrystotaenia Fassl, 1924 for this, which, however, had no nomenclatural validity as a form name according to the international rules of nomenclature. A.narcissus chrysotaenia ssp. nov. therefore has Mr. Séraphin as author with the year of the first description 2022.
see: SÉRAPHIN, Gilles; Distribution d'Agrias narcissus dans le bas Amazone et description d'Agrias narcissus chrysotaenia ssp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Charaxinae, Preponini), ANTENOR, Volume 9(2), Dec. 2022, pp. 96-100, 3 fig. and 1 distribution map

here a female of the new subsprecies

narcissus chrysotaenia f.JPG (586.12 KiB) Viewed 5282 times

[hewi]

and here a beautiful female variation of A.phalcidon phalcidon

P1000958.JPG (725.35 KiB) Viewed 5277 times

[Paul K]

I’m confused here, how the new subspecies can be named with invalid genus?

[adamcotton]

I’m confused here, how the new subspecies can be named with invalid genus?

The original infrasubspecific name was described by Fassl in 1924, but that name has no standing under the ICZN Code, including not being a senior homonym, so when Séraphin described the new subspecies using the same name it is available (described as new) from Séraphin, 2022. Under the Code it is as if chrysotaenia Fassl, 1924 never existed at all.

Adam.

PS. If you were actually asking about the validity of the name chrysotaenia Séraphin, 2022 because genus Agrias is a synonym of Prepona, that is also irrelevant under the Code. The genus a name is described under doesn't have to be correct.

[hewi]

Whether a genus is invalid or not depends on the approach of the author. For M. Séraphin and many others, Agrias is not a synonym of Prepona. These persons are not obliged to subscribe to a different view. They are free to express their point of view.

[Chuck]

... because genus Agrias is a synonym ... that is also irrelevant under the Code. The genus a name is described under doesn't have to be correct.

So if I describe a new species of swallowtail, and elect to use the specific name "lupus", I can randomly select an unused genus name, say "Cannis"? Or if I used "freitchikkeni" for the species, I can describe it with a new genus so I get "Kintukie freitchikkeni"?

[adamcotton]

Or if I used "freitchikkeni" for the species, I can describe it with a new genus so I get "Kintukie freitchikkeni"?

You would have to describe the genus name, either beforehand or at the same time as the species name. A species name described in a genus that has not actually been described is not an available name.

Adam.