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Post by nomad on Jan 31, 2016 9:29:54 GMT
Thank you, but I doubt the D. telefominensis is ex pupae but was not long out on the wing, when a hungry bird took a bite?. I agree super specimen and one I do not envisage getting again. There are so few rarities coming out of New Guinea. One reason is that many areas are off limits in West Papua due to Indonesian military operations against the native Papuans and across the border, gangs of rascals roam the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Recently a British newspaper carried a sobering story of what happened to a couple from the U.K. when hiking the Kokoda trail in that country.
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Post by wollastoni on Jan 31, 2016 9:38:32 GMT
Yes I read that story... awful. It confirms no one should trail in PNG without experimented local guides.
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Post by nomad on Jan 31, 2016 10:12:23 GMT
Even with guides it is not always safe. There was that awful story, again on the Kokoda trail, where the Australian party survived but two of their guides perished trying to save them.
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Post by nomad on Feb 6, 2016 11:21:31 GMT
Delias Kazueae is a strange little species in the genus with narrow forewings which has been placed in the Dorimene group. It is a rare butterfly that is found on Taliabu in the Sula Islands. R.I. Vane-Wright & R. de Jong (2003) in their ' Butterflies of Sulawesi', regard the Sula Islands as belonging to that Fauna Region and not as suggested by some authors who place them as part of the Moluccan Islands. One wishes that more was known about this interesting butterfly, other than just the specimens place of origin. Delias may be a popular group among collectors but not much is known about many of the species in the wild. Female. Male
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Post by Adam Cotton on Feb 6, 2016 18:09:46 GMT
R.I. Vane-Wright & R. de Jong (2003) in their ' Butterflies of Sulawesi', regard the Sula Islands as belonging to that Fauna Region and not as suggested by some authors who place them as part of the Moluccan Islands. The Sula Islands are a bridge between Sulawesi and the Moluccas, but I agree it is probably best to regard them as belonging to the Sulawesi faunistic region. At least in Papilionidae the species are much more closely related to those from Sulawesi in general. Adam.
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Post by wollastoni on Feb 6, 2016 18:43:25 GMT
Delias apatala flies on Taliabu (Sula isl) and on Buru (Moluccas) but not in Sulawesi.
At least 2 taxons of Delias has been described from Taliabu island in the 21st century, I'd like to visit this island one day.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Feb 6, 2016 18:52:38 GMT
Indeed this is an interesting group of islands connecting Sulawesi and Buru in particular; but as you can see from the map below, the shallower sea connects to Sulawesi via Peleng. It is not surprising that some Delias are related to those in Buru and probably other Moluccan species. Adam.
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Post by nomad on Feb 7, 2016 9:12:56 GMT
The Sula Islands also have Delias kuehni which is also found on Buru but not elsewhere in the Moluccan Islands. That species also occurs on Sulawesi.
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Post by nomad on Feb 13, 2016 14:32:36 GMT
Delias chimbu Orr & Sibatani, 1987. A Papuan species that flies at high altitude. It was discovered by the Australian collectors W. Brandt and E. Hallstrom at the River Wahgi in the Western Province of Papua New Gunea. The original specimens were thought to belong to D. cuningputi to which this species is very closely related. Male specimen of D. chimbu. Kerowagi, Chimbu Province 2743 meters.
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Post by wollastoni on Mar 28, 2016 15:20:49 GMT
A beautiful Delias, present in very few collection : the delicate Delias mesoblema from the Central Mountains of West Papua.
Langda - Kerabuk R. Teri May 1992 Coll. Pequin
Anyone knows what "R. Teri" could mean ? A river ? A collector ?
Not A1 but I have never seen it offered during the last twenty years and I got this one via an exchange. Olivier
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Post by deliasfanatic on Mar 28, 2016 15:23:29 GMT
River Teri
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2016 1:19:49 GMT
Mine are also from the River Teri... It must be THE spot to try for these... My dates are 26 June 1991 and 31 March 1992.That's 3 in 12 months for us, Olivier. I suspect that Danny could add more to this short list.
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Post by deliasfanatic on Mar 29, 2016 3:24:10 GMT
All 3 of mine are also from R. Teri, same time period: 16-26.iv.91; 17.xi.91; 1-20.iii.92. I also have some flavistriga from the same location and general time period. D. mesoblema is apparently quite scarce; I haven't seen more recent specimens, and within the 1991-92 period, I have many more flavistriga compared to only 3 mesoblema. The flavistriga specimens are also much more widespread, from many different locations.
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Post by wollastoni on Mar 29, 2016 7:10:08 GMT
So at least, we know where to search mesoblema now ! Thank you my friends for sharing these information, it helps us all better understand the area of this species. Seems very localised.
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Post by nomad on Mar 29, 2016 13:09:11 GMT
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