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Post by Adam Cotton on Jun 27, 2018 8:30:24 GMT
Yes, he is alive and well. He told me recently that he is going to the French Alps on holiday.
Adam.
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Post by wollastoni on Oct 15, 2018 12:49:03 GMT
Bernard was even in Papua last summer, so he is in very good shape. Another rare Delias, new addition to my collection, Delias mayrhoferi female from New Britain (PNG):
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Post by wollastoni on Oct 29, 2018 20:18:37 GMT
And another top rarity that has recently joined my collection. Delias messalina vigasa male from East New Britain, Baining Mts 2100m, Nov 2008, leg. Laurie Wills
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Post by trehopr1 on Oct 30, 2018 4:17:42 GMT
Happy to see that you landed a couple of "high end" Delias for your collection. Both are exquisite species in their own right and exclusive to own! Very nice... Was wondering if you have ever acquired any Delias bagoe from New Ireland? Nomad, has a awesome pair which he posted at the start of this thread. That's another one I would absolutely have to "bag" if Delias were a group I collected. Unfortunately, nothing hard to get in Delias ever makes it to America. Only a few of the common species. I think as a niche group it has never been popular here with collectors. If you have D. bagoe can you show us what you have? Maybe, Deliasfanatic has it and can show us what he has managed to acquire. I'm sure it will be staggering....
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Post by wollastoni on Oct 30, 2018 9:40:34 GMT
Happy to see that you landed a couple of "high end" Delias for your collection. Both are exquisite species in their own right and exclusive to own! Very nice... Was wondering if you have ever acquired any Delias bagoe from New Ireland? Nomad, has a awesome pair which he posted at the start of this thread. That's another one I would absolutely have to "bag" if Delias were a group I collected. Unfortunately, nothing hard to get in Delias ever makes it to America. Only a few of the common species. I think as a niche group it has never been popular here with collectors. If you have D. bagoe can you show us what you have? Maybe, Deliasfanatic has it and can show us what he has managed to acquire. I'm sure it will be staggering.... Thanks for your comment. Sure here is my female bagoe from New Ireland, I have a male too. I would have to slightly correct you about Delias in the US. I know several American Delias collectors and some of them have a larger collection than me.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Oct 30, 2018 15:39:48 GMT
I know several American Delias collectors and some of them have a larger collection than me. Only some of them? Adam. PS. Absolutely superb specimens.
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Post by trehopr1 on Oct 30, 2018 17:57:58 GMT
O'h yea... that's what I'm talking about. Fantastic specimen and species!
Are the Delias from New Ireland as hard to find (or get) as the Delias of New Britain? Equally seldom seen and pricey? Just wondering if either locality is less visited (collected) by anyone hence, one of them is definitely a little more special.
Perhaps, location has nothing to do with it and it's more a subject of certain species being just harder to get due to elevation, localized food plant sources etc. etc.
I am a novice in the arena of Delias however, I have come to learn much from this thread.
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Post by wollastoni on Oct 30, 2018 18:14:05 GMT
Thanks. I would say that specimens from New Ireland or New Britain are equally seldom seen and pricey, because there is no local suppliers and going there is costful and hazardous. The nearly only source to find them is Laurie Wills (member of the ICF) who organize very costful and risky expeditions to find them (sometimes he has to use helicopter to reach the summits of these mountains!) : hence the price. You can buy them from Laurie Wills or European resellers like Jens Jakusch or Robert Westphal. All mountainous species from New Ireland or New Britain are expensive (between 500 and 1.500€), the rarest species can reach HUGE amounts if ever sold (Delias laknekei, Delias elusiva...). Above 3.000 euros for sure. Some species are so rare that they have been described very recently ( Delias elusiva, 2013) If some of you wants to dig into this topic, here are some links with the : - Delias species from New Ireland
- Delias species from New BritainThen are New Ireland and New Britain the home of the rarest Delias ? Well, some species from mainland New Guinea are even rarer in collection and some haven't been caught for nearly one century !
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Post by trehopr1 on Oct 30, 2018 18:25:09 GMT
I am surprised to hear of there being collectors over here with size-able holdings of Delias. I have known a dealer here for the last 21 years and in all those years I have only seen (but once) a collection of Delias go thru his hands. It was a small collection of 9 drawers which he said was just the "common stuff" a wealthy collector amassed out of boredom (as he put it). He remarked that few people over here have much interest in Delias or Parnassius generally speaking. He said Europeans love those groups and that dealers over there have better contacts at getting them first; especially as concerns the rarer / seldom seen species. Seems to me Americans just "inhale" Papilionidae, Ornithoptera, Morphinae, and Saturniidae (just to name a few); as my dealer could not hold on to any of those groups for any length of time. He made money "hand over fist" in anything related to those groups. Only 3 days ago he showed me 5 female Papilio ascanius (papered); which he just acquired. Those made my socks roll "up and down" a couple of times....
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Post by deliasfanatic on Oct 30, 2018 20:50:12 GMT
It's not common to find Delias except the commonest species from actual dealers, especially New Guinea area species. Most of the time, they're acquired from other collectors or collector-dealers, and many of those would have come originally from visiting researchers or collectors who have sold or exchanged their surplus specimens over time. Also, some specimens have been in collections for decades, and even though they may have been fairly common originally, they have now become hard to find since there isn't a current source for them and must be plucked from old collections.
Even more scarce would be material from the early collectors such as Meek and the Pratts. There is some floating around, to be sure, but very hard to get and expensive, even common species, because of added historic value.
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Post by wollastoni on Oct 31, 2018 10:10:12 GMT
Indeed I guess US Delias collectors have the same sources as me : European and Asian sellers, worldwide private collectors and some precious local contacts. The Delias collector community is also very "united" and we do a lot of exchanges between us. Trehopr1, you were right when you said US dealers don't have many Delias for sale. Only Alex Bic provides from time to time some nice stuff. From Canada, Banko is good to. Both knows Delias genus well which is compulsory for any dealers who wants to find and provide rarities.
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Post by nomad on Oct 13, 2019 13:50:58 GMT
Some rather uncommon New Guinea Delias at the AES fair yesterday, my additions were Delias wollastoni abmisibilensis (top) and Delias mesoblema.
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Post by wollastoni on Oct 13, 2019 17:06:57 GMT
WOW, congrats Peter ! Some very rare Delias indeed !
Funny, I have found my first Delias wollastoni abmissibilensis during this month too ! Not as beautiful as yours though !
Could we know more about their locality and collector ?
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Post by nomad on Oct 13, 2019 20:11:11 GMT
Hi Olivier. Thank you. There is no collectors name on the data label, just Pass Valley, 03/01/1995. I believe that since its discovery at Abmisibil, Delias wollastoni abmisibilensis has been found in further localities in West Papua, such as Pass Valley, Korupun and Ok Tedi, according to one web source.
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Post by wollastoni on Oct 14, 2019 8:23:31 GMT
Interesting, I didn't know that wollastoni abmisibilensis reaches the Pass Valley. Strange as I heard some ssp bryophila were found there... and abmisibilensis is very rare on the market while the Pass Valley is "often" prospected.
I guess the Pass Valley is the "border" between the 2 ssp, so it may depend from one collecting spot to another inside the Pass Valley.
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