Byasa polyeuctes aberration - [Spotted in Li Jingke email]

[timmsyrj]

apologies for the quality, I've cropped his emailed photo, most of you have probably had this email this morning but I spotted this, which I pressume is Byasa polyeuctes with a red patch instead of white.



Rich

[Adam Cotton]

Yes, it is indeed Byasa polyeuctes with a red patch instead of white. This type of aberration does occur occasionally, although this is an extreme example.

Where does Li Jinke CLAIM this came from?

Adam.

[timmsyrj]

Out-Tai, Phongsalis, Laos.

Rich

[wollastoni]

Let's remind everyone to never deal with Li Jingke who is infamous for creating fake datas, fake ssp description in order to increase the value of his specimens.

[timmsyrj]

Oh, I've got no intention of ordering but wouldn't mind that specimen in the collection, nice ABB.

Rich

[Adam Cotton]

Strangely a few years ago he sent e-mails out with photos of similar (the same?) specimen supposedly from different places.

On 30 April 2013 he sent an individual photo:
Data: Mt. Popo Mountain , Kachin province, Myanmar . June6-10,2012
very very rare Papilio sp.: $300/only 1ex

Then on 20 December 2013 what seems to be the same specimen appears in a group photo of mixed specimens:
Data: Mt. Emaw Bum, Kachin province, Myanmar. June5-22,2013(photo :butterflies-myanmar+DSC02486)
15$/1ex
over 100 speies 600exs=1000US$

On 16 August 2014 he offered the same lot for a discount of $600, so obviously hadn't sold it.

Now he appears to be offering the same specimen (different photo, with some different butterflies adjacent to it) as coming from Ou Tai, Phongsali, Laos (correct spelling of the place names quoted by Rich above).

I note that in all 3 photos the hindwings are not quite opposite each other so that the tails are staggered in the same way, which is a good indication that they are actually the same specimen, offered for sale from 3 different localities.

Here is the individual photo (cropped) sent with the 30 April 2013 e-mail:



Presumably he is deliberately including this specimen to try to attract the attention of collectors.

Adam.

[Adam Cotton]

I would question whether the Li Jingke specimen is real though, as I have never seen such a red specimen before despite seeing hundreds of them. It is possible that the red could have been painted on, say with a red felt tip pen. It could also be genuine, but the closest I have seen is a pink flushed specimen which I added to my collection:



Pink flushed specimens also occur in Byasa nevilli, more commonly than in B. polyeuctes.

Adam.