Luring Morpho in French Guyana

[wollastoni]

Luring Morpho males in the French Guyanan Amazon must be something to do at least one in ones life.

My friend Franck from the Moutouchi Gite in action :

www.facebook.com/guyaneentomology/videos/481811625524321/?fref=gs&dti=230510234133338&hc_location=Group

(you need a facebook account to see the video)

[satyrinae]

I did it in French Guiana 10 years ago and it was simply fantastic. At one time I had 3 Morpho deidamia in the net together :-)

[Adam Cotton]

Oct 18, 2017 12:20:58 GMT wollastoni said:

you need a facebook account to see the video

So people like me who cannot abide Fb miss out. Never mind, I guess it's one of the sacrifices I have to make for a bit of privacy.

Adam.

[bobw]

Adam

I refuse to have a facebook account yet I was able to watch the video.

I tried this myself in French Guyana about nine years ago.  I only managed to try it with M. telemachus but it worked a treat; however, I found it almost impossible to wield the net with one hand whilst holding the lure in the other so it became a two-man job.

[Paul K]

Ha! I didn't know about this method when I was in F.Guiana 13 years ago ( mainly for moth collecting ) and I had to chase M.rhetenor on the road for about half KM!
Ah! I wish to go back there one more time for butterfly collecting.

Paul

[colon]

Dear Paul K and others
I was lucky to find Jean-Marc G in Guyane when I was there recently, where he introduced me to his lure system - it is similar to the system used by Frank and Isabelle at Moutouchi, which I observed when I was there with them, but the lure of J-M G is cut to the size and the colour and the profile of the specimen sought, ie metallic blue for m. deidamia or metallic orange for m. telemachus. It was very effective. A lure of similar design with a flexible joint between the profile and the handle was used by Thibaut R. at Palambala and was even more effective, as I observed when I was there with him.
The success of my collection of specimens was greatly improved by the use of these lures.
Colon

[jmg]

For many reasons, I refuse to subscrive a FB account. Nevertheless, it's possible to watch the video.

Regarding the Morpho species in French Guiana :

- Morpho hecuba comes easily to orange lure ;
- Morpho telemachus comes very well to orange or blue lure, but you must handle the lure in a specific manner ;
- Morpho marcus comes to the blue lure ;
- Morpho eugenia does not come to the blue lure but comes directly to a white light when it's still dark (between 5.55 and 6.10 AM)
- Morpho rhetenor comes more or less to a blue lure ; the Hmong collectors (who are extraordinarily skilled in gathering Morpho - and Agrias, not with lures but with traps) in French Guyane use a peculiar blue lure with a halftone surface for this species ;
- Morpho menelaus comes very well to the blue lure and returns there several times if we not succeed in capturing the first shot, even the second and the third!
- Morpho helenor, Morpho achilles and Morpho deidamia come directly to the blue lure.

in Colombia, things are alike :

- Morpho theseus flying at canopy level does not care the lure ; same in Panama !
- Morpho cypris cypris watch the lure without descending from its flight level to 6 or 7 m above the ground. On the other hand, it can be attracted with a smell of rotten fish;
- Morpho amathonte presents the same behaviour than Morpho menelaus ;
- Morpho helenor (local subspecies telamon) does as the nominal subspecies in french Guyane.

In Peru, local collectors spin a rag to attract the Morpho; see the following videos whose links are on this page:

www.lepido-france.fr/comportements-remarquables-chez-lepidopteres/ 

Vidéo n°40 – Collecte de Morpho
Vidéo n°41 – Collecte de Morpho
Vidéo n°42 – Collecte de Morpho
Vidéo n°43 – How to catch Morpho rhetenor
Vidéo n°44 – How to catch Morpho menelaus
Vidéo n°45 – How to catch Morphoc hecuba

In South-East Asie, Ornithopthera and Troides comes very well to a red lure. Once, I witnessed the passage of many Troides helena cerberus C. & R. FELDER, 1865 flying out of reach over a deep ravine. I took in my case a bright red t-shirt and all the new Troides came directly to examine this garment! About the red lure and Ornithoptera in Arfak Mountains, see the page :

www.lepido-france.fr/chiffon-rouge/

And, as many know, in Central Asia (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan), Parnassinae come very well to white lure.

Here is a Lepidopterists of France member collecting Morpho menelaus using the blue lure near Saül in French Guyane (November 2011) :

[jmg]

Morpho helenor achillaena resting (!) on a blue lure :

[jmg]

Colon writes : "A lure of similar design with a flexible joint between the profile and the handle was used by Thibaut R. at Palambala and was even more effective, as I observed when I was there with him."

Here is a picture of that flexible lure made by Thibaut R., french entomologist in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni where he manages a private butterfly museum :

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About Franck & Isabelle in Moutouchi, see the page : www.lepido-france.fr/gite-moutouchi-guyane/
Great place for collecting butterflies ! One among the best in French Guyane. Within a month, I'll be there !

[colon]

Dear J-M G and others

Since observing the lures of J-M G and others in Guyane I have been collecting again in Sabah, Sarawak and Kalamatan and I found that a lure as designed by J-M G with a bright metallic orange colour, (not red as J -M G mentions) is very effective for m and f triodes. However a metallic green lure of similar design was ineffective for me for both m and f priamus poseidon. Do others have a suggestion for the collection of p.p.

Colon

[wollastoni]

Oct 22, 2017 20:59:40 GMT colon said:

However a metallic green lure of similar design was ineffective for me for both m and f priamus poseidon. Do others have a suggestion for the collection of p.p.

Colon

Yes priamus is attracted by red lures.

[jmg]

The experience on the field in Arfak Mountains told us that ALL the Ornithoptera species of the area, males and females, come to the red lure (and not green!). Last but not least, the local Papuan collectors use red nets and red lure !

See the pictures : www.lepido-france.fr/chiffon-rouge/

See also these pages:
www.lepido-france.fr/lepidopteres-de-larfak-en-papua/
www.lepido-france.fr/aout-2007-expedition-en-arfak/



Photo : Ornithoptera tithonus misresiana Joicey & Noakes, 1916, male on red lure, Meni, Arfak, August, 2007. Photo : Laurent Mercié.

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[jmg]

I and members of the Hatam tribe in Mokwam (West Papua). Note the red butterfly net !

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[Paul K]

I suspect the red lure imitates red Ixora coccinea flowering bushes. Most of Papilionidae love those flowers as a nectar source.

Paul

[jmg]

" I suspect the red lure imitates red Ixora coccinea flowering bushes. Most of Papilionidae love those flowers as a nectar source. "

I do agree! The males of Morpho (and only the males) face the blue lure because of the rivalry between males. The Papilionidae (males and females, Ornithoptera and Troides) run up to the red lure which evokes the red flowers where they feed on nectar. It's not the same behavior at all.

Photos :
Papilio memnon Linnaeus, 1758, female on Hibiscus flower. Nyuh Kuninng, Bali, August, 9th 2008. Photo : J.-M. G.
Papilio peranthus transiens Fruhstorfer, 1897, male. Nyuh Kuninng (Ubud), Bali, August, 2008. Photo : J.-M. G.

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