jhyatt
Aurelian
Posts: 224
Country: U.S.A.
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Post by jhyatt on Jul 14, 2020 16:26:40 GMT
Let's see some skippers for a change:
These are all southern US swamp skippers. Col. 1: Euphyes pilatka, E. pilatka klotsi, E, arpa. Col. 2: Euphyes berryi, E. dion, E. bimacula. Col. 3: Euphyes dukesi, Poanes viator. Col. 4: Poanes yehl, Problema bulenta.
Cheers, JH
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jhyatt
Aurelian
Posts: 224
Country: U.S.A.
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Post by jhyatt on Jul 14, 2020 17:56:26 GMT
Please note the worn female at the bottom right of the E. berryi unit tray (2nd column, top). I have no idea what species it is. Doesn't seem to match up with anything I know from the area; it's perhaps closest to E. arpa. Locality was coastal Georgia, USA. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Thanks, jh
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Post by trehopr1 on Jul 14, 2020 18:10:51 GMT
Wow ! Now those are some very impressive personal holdings... Thanks for sharing with us.
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Post by jshuey on Jul 15, 2020 21:44:36 GMT
Hell Yes, I just gave away all my North American Bugs that are not skippers, specifically to make room for more skippers. I now have space for exactly 166 drawers of Western Hemisphere Hepsperiidae john
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Post by trehopr1 on Jul 16, 2020 3:22:26 GMT
Holy Cow jshuey ! You have certainly done well on those Central American skippers. Those fellows are quite hard to catch; I saw a few skippers in Bolivia but, I never got that close to net any of them.
Some nice large species there with some gorgeous markings. Do you have any of the long tail varieties which you could show us. Those are always especially nice !
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Post by jshuey on Jul 16, 2020 13:25:35 GMT
You have opened a can or worms here! The first is what used to be the genus Polythrix - there are two undescribed species in this drawer. The other is part of the Urbanus proteus complex, with a few green species shown and then Urbanus dorantes (brown). (there are 2 more drawers of this species group in the collection). You start to see why I need more space! This is the one family where I very aggressively acquire material from local collectors and through trading. When I was working in Belize, usually with 1-2 volunteers also collecting for me, I generated so much excess material in the "big-pretty" groups that I was able to work some great trades. I'm sure that people thought they were really getting the best of me, but I wanted Hesperiidae, and it's amazing what offering up a few Preponas will get you. Sadly, my trading material is pretty much depleted now, and I broke my foot almost a year ago and still can't imagine hiking up a mountain. So who knows what the future holds for me for field work. John
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jhyatt
Aurelian
Posts: 224
Country: U.S.A.
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Post by jhyatt on Jul 16, 2020 14:42:25 GMT
I love seeing all those skippers, John! Good going. Skippers can be tough to come by in the neotropics, per my limited experience. Skippers and hairstreaks are where the interesting collecting remains to be done, though.
Cheers, jh
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Post by jshuey on Jul 16, 2020 15:23:24 GMT
I love seeing all those skippers, John! Good going. Skippers can be tough to come by in the neotropics, per my limited experience. Skippers and hairstreaks are where the interesting collecting remains to be done, though. Cheers, jh John, Two of my most treasured bugs - you gave me. Euphyes chamuli from Guatemala. The look pretty much like E. vestris from the US - small and dark brown. But chamuli is endemic to the highlands of Chiapas+Guatemala and these specimens were collected by Edwardo Welling. I think that was part of the Papilio joanae trade. I think you got taken!!!! And skippers are actually quite common in the neotropics. But really, really, collecting them is fairly incompatible with collecting other, more showy bugs. As soon as you start thinking about Morphos and Papilios too much, you quit noticing the little brown jobs flying along the edge of the trail... For example, the flip side to my narrow focus, is that I collect very few swallowtails relative to other people. I typically see them at the very last second, and don't have a chance before I spook them off. A great example are males of Heraclides erostratus, which roost along shrubby edges of trails in the late afternoon a meter or so above ground. I saw them on a regular basis in Belize, but have never collected one because until they fly, they are not part of my search pattern. I don't see them until the are in wild flight, avoiding the big mammal lumbering down the trail... John
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Post by trehopr1 on Jul 16, 2020 18:53:05 GMT
Thank You indeed John for those additional photo's of your extensive Hesperiid collection !
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Post by exoticimports on Jul 17, 2020 12:35:29 GMT
An entomologist with a history of bad behavior passed away, finding himself in the fires of Hell, with the devil focused on him.
Despondent, the entomologist queried: "I suppose here in hell there are only ticks and diptera, no butterflies?"
"On the contrary" replied the devil, "indeed we do have butterflies, many!"
The bad entomologist relaxed with pleasure.
"Here!" said the devil, handing him a large tupperware box. "Here are a few thousand skippers to set. We have a million more, so take your time."
*******
Not to lecture an esteemed field researcher (but I will), John a busted foot isn't the end. Frankly, finding new and rare species in the mountains is "easy" because nobody has been there. Restricted to easy paths, such as roadways, rare species can still be found- perhaps readily- because one is forced to slow down and look. Of the two new butterflies I've found, both were in easy areas. One was with Sally Warren, who'd had a hip replaced, so while accompanying her I was restricted to a roadway. FWIW most of my Solomon Islands Skippers went via Sally to Andrew Warren.
********
I too have been tasked with my own hell, as JH has requested I find him a skipper that looks like every other one in the genus. Meaning, I have to catch and/or observe every near-identical brown & orange skipper I see.
Chuck
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Post by jshuey on Jul 17, 2020 16:21:55 GMT
An entomologist with a history of bad behavior passed away, finding himself in the fires of Hell, with the devil focused on him. Despondent, the entomologist queried: "I suppose here in hell there are only ticks and diptera, no butterflies?" "On the contrary" replied the devil, "indeed we do have butterflies, many!" The bad entomologist relaxed with pleasure. "Here!" said the devil, handing him a large tupperware box. "Here are a few thousand skippers to set. We have a million more, so take your time." Chuck So, this is what hell might look like to many people! Pure skippers! And there's more! John
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jhyatt
Aurelian
Posts: 224
Country: U.S.A.
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Post by jhyatt on Jul 17, 2020 17:19:15 GMT
Jshuey, your photos make me commit the sin of envy. And if you're feeling really guilty about the E. chamuli trade, tell me the secret of getting the saliva-wet tissue paper skipper attractant scheme to work. I've tried and tried (US and Costa Rica) and failed consistently. (And no, I'm not gonna stop brushing!)
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Post by jshuey on Jul 17, 2020 17:41:06 GMT
Jshuey, your photos make me commit the sin of envy. And if you're feeling really guilty about the E. chamuli trade, tell me the secret of getting the saliva-wet tissue paper skipper attractant scheme to work. I've tried and tried (US and Costa Rica) and failed consistently. (And no, I'm not gonna stop brushing!) So, I spent some time with Olaf Mielke a few years ago in SE Brazil, and he said that as best as he knows, dead fish bait and spit-lures do not work well outside the Amazon and Andes. He's the guy that figured the spit-lure thing out, and he is MISTER SKIPPER of South America - so I'm guessing he knows what he is talking about. We did not use them for our work near Curitiba, based on his recommendation. I had great success once with spitballs in Belize, and it was during a classic army ant raid. I was literally a couple feet from the advancing front, catching skippers and shaking the ants off my legs. Ouch. Otherwise, it just seems like you get an occasional bug, and thirsty. I've been told that a dropper bottle with a pinch of salt works just as well as spit. I've tried it in Belize, but again, just the very occasional bug... And I think most people would rather have the joanae versus an odd looking dun skipper! john
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Post by trehopr1 on Jul 18, 2020 5:09:27 GMT
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jhyatt
Aurelian
Posts: 224
Country: U.S.A.
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Post by jhyatt on Jul 18, 2020 13:23:03 GMT
Trehoper1, Lovely material, and beautifully photographed! Thank for sharing your friend's bugs with us. John
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