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Post by wollastoni on Jan 16, 2016 13:15:00 GMT
This Heraclia is splendid !
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Post by cabintom on Jan 16, 2016 14:24:36 GMT
Daphnis nerii ! ( your Sphinx moth ) My good friends from Bangkok. They have family all over the world except Americas. Yes Tom I confirm Daphnis nerii, beautiful sphinx Thank you both! I'm not sure how I missed it when I looked through www.africanmoths.com... at any rate, before posting I was sure I'd recently seen a picture of a species very much like it, but I couldn't remember where. Now, Paul, I realize you had posted about D. nerii a number of times in your Southeastern Asian Butterflies thread. This Heraclia is splendid ! I agree! If it were a fresher specimen there would be more evidence of the nice metallic blue dashes between the yellow forewing markings.
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Post by deliasfanatic on Jan 16, 2016 14:28:49 GMT
All very nice, Tom!
Re: heaviest, I'd imagine that the larger female birdwings would claim that title. For non-birdwings, perhaps female Charaxes castor or one of the largest Polyura, such as female P. pyrrhus or galaxia.
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Post by cabintom on Mar 5, 2016 15:22:58 GMT
Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything substantial. Work has been getting the best of my time. I'm hoping that in the near future I'll be able to post pictures from my time in Beni, Nord Kivu (I have hundreds of more specimens to work through), as well as from a couple dry-season savanna hikes, and also a trip to my favorite little village of Mbogi. Since I'll hopefully be taking a week off at the end of the month, I'm never likely to actually catch-up on this backlog (both in terms of setting specimens and reporting on what I've found)... though that's not a terrible problem to have. In the meantime, I'll post some photos from what I've been collecting around my home... but first: Charaxes (Charaxes) boueti boueti Feisthamel, 1850 (I've had my trap running almost 24/7 since mid-November and these are the only 2 C. boueti I've see in that time... luckily I've got a pair!) male | Caught 23/XI/2015 Q. Lumumba, Bunia, Ituri, DRC (1°32'N, 30°15'E) 1250m female | Caught 19/I/2016 Q. Lumumba, Bunia, Ituri, DRC (1°32'N, 30°15'E) 1250m I asked Robert Ducarme for his comments on this species and this is what he wrote: At the end of his notes on C. boueti, Ducarme mentions Djugu, a region in the centre of Ituri that is known for its higher altitude (1600 - 1800m) and for having been poorly studied even up until now. Unfortunately, much of the forest (if not all) in the highest altitude areas has disappeared in the last 60 years... I'm hoping to be able to focus collecting efforts in that area in the coming years.
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Post by cabintom on Mar 5, 2016 16:18:20 GMT
The funny thing is that, while waiting on photos to upload for my next post, I just went out to check what the trap had caught today. Lo and behold! A near perfect female C. boueti! Awesome.
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Post by cabintom on Mar 5, 2016 16:31:06 GMT
HOME : Quartier Lumumba, Bunia, Ituri (1°41'N, 30°07'E) 1250mSo here's my yard (sorry about the poor quality phone pictures): Unfortunately, most of the plants in the yard aren't native... I'd love to start transplanting stuff from the forest, but at the moment I'm fairly botanically inept. My trap, hanging above our freshly cleared vegetable garden. One of the street boys came to visit as I was emptying the trap the other day. Charaxes brutus angustus is my most commonly trapped species, averaging 2 or 3 captures a day (though more often than not these are repeat customers). When I pull them out they tend to hang around for a few minutes.
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Post by nomad on Mar 5, 2016 16:45:16 GMT
The funny thing is that, while waiting on photos to upload for my next post, I just went out to check what the trap had caught today. Lo and behold! A near perfect female C. boueti! Awesome. Congratulations, the Charaxes must have read your thoughts. As usual great report and images. I love the picture of the Charaxes on the wee boy's head. The little fellow does not look very happy about it. Great thread .
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Post by cabintom on Mar 5, 2016 16:47:22 GMT
HOME : Quartier Lumumba, Bunia, Ituri (1°41'N, 30°07'E) 1250mCharaxes (Charaxes) brutus angustus (Rothschild, 1900) female : 23/XI/2015 female: 22/XII/2015 male: 2/XII/2015 (not in great shape but has the most extensive light pink/orange HW marginal markings I've seen thus far) male: 13/XII/2015
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Post by cabintom on Mar 5, 2016 16:50:08 GMT
The little fellow does not look very happy about it. It's a strange cultural "quirk" the Congolese have: They refuse to smile for pictures (even things like wedding pictures). I tried to catch him while he was laughing, but he kept putting on his serious face.
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Post by cabintom on Mar 5, 2016 17:35:47 GMT
HOME : Quartier Lumumba, Bunia, Ituri (1°41'N, 30°07'E) 1250mSome more species I've trapped : Bicyclus vulgaris (Butler, 1868) male: 26/XII/2015 ("Dry season form") male : 5/XII/2015 ("Wet season form") female : 18/XII/2015 ("Dry season form") Bicyclus safitza safitza (Westwood, [1850]) female : 8/I/2016 ("wet season form" - note that our dry season extends from the beginning of December until March) Gnophodes betsimena parmeno Doubleday, [1849] female : 8/I/2016 Eurytela dryope angulata Aurivillius, [1899] male : 7/XII/2015 I've also been surprised to find Junonia chorimene, Junonia terea, and a male Hypolimnas misippus in the trap. The one species I've neglected to include here is Melanitis leda. I already had a good series of the species, so even though I capture 1 or 2 every other day or so, I haven't been keeping many and evidently have yet to photograph any of those. Ypthima doleta Kirby, 1880 Not found in the trap, but I figured it belongs in this post along with the other Satyrinae. It's one of the more common species around the yard. male (?) : 15/XI/2015
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Post by cabintom on Mar 5, 2016 18:22:07 GMT
HOME : Quartier Lumumba, Bunia, Ituri (1°41'N, 30°07'E) 1250mHypolimnas anthedon anthedon (Doubleday, 1845) This is one of my favourite visitors found here. They love to soar around the trees. male : 16/XII/2015 (form anthedon) male : 7/I/2016 (form dubius) Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) These were everywhere in late November/early December. male : 23/XI/2015 female : 11/XII/2015 Junonia chorimene (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) Another very common species, but with just enough variability to be interesting. male : 23/VIII/2015 female : 22/VIII/2015 female : 18/XI/2015 Papilio (Princeps) demodocus demodocus Esper, [1798] By far the most common Papilio here. In August, Steve Collins gave me a large quantity of Zinnia seeds to plant and these guys absolutely love those flowers. female : 3/I/2016
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Post by mygos on Mar 5, 2016 20:06:13 GMT
Thank you Tom for these news ! I love the way you photograph your specimens recto Verso with scale ...
A+, Michel
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Post by trehopr1 on Mar 5, 2016 21:23:44 GMT
I second the motion Tom on your photographs and presentation ! First rate work.... Bravo.
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Post by cabintom on Mar 6, 2016 4:50:08 GMT
FYI, Eurytela dryope feed on Ricinus communis (castor-oil plant), so if you have the time and energy doing it, this should be a easy rear. Interesting! Thanks. Now if I could find some seeds... if only just to have it planted in the yard.
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Post by africaone on Mar 6, 2016 10:28:44 GMT
FYI, Eurytela dryope feed on Ricinus communis (castor-oil plant), so if you have the time and energy doing it, this should be a easy rear. Interesting! Thanks. Now if I could find some seeds... if only just to have it planted in the yard. it is a common tree in many gardens ... probably easier !
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