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Post by timmsyrj on Mar 5, 2016 14:39:28 GMT
I am looking for ova / larvae of the Canary Islands Large White butterfly if anyone can get any this year, ideally need them around May / June time when the nasturtiums are well established in my greenhouse.
Also I am looking for ova / larvae of any Speyeria with the darker green females, ideally Speyeria diana but also cybele, nokomis etc..
And when my Great Water Dock has established i would like some Large Copper, L. dispar ova / larvae
Ideally within the U.K or close European supplier to reduce time in the post or failing this late this year during hibernation period.
Thanks for taking the time to look,
Rich
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Post by nomad on Mar 5, 2016 18:49:56 GMT
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Post by trehopr1 on Mar 5, 2016 21:13:30 GMT
That Canary Islands large white is a very nice species Rich. Hope you can get yourself some. A while back Dunc posted some photo's of some superb examples which he has in his collection. After seeing his I had to add it to my "bucket list" of species to keep an eye out for !
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Post by timmsyrj on Mar 8, 2016 9:45:54 GMT
Thanks for your replies, I'm really looking forward to this year with my new breeding set up getting under way soon, I want to start with a few temporary species to kick start it but then once I get a my main targets I want to line breed them looking for Abb's, but I need to establish the food plants first to feed my small colonies.
I'm hoping to eventually get a small colony of Agynnis paphia and adippe (under greenhouse conditions I'm hoping for plenty of Abb's) also C. euphrosyne (pallida and Abb's being my target), L.dispar (good size perfect specimens and Abb's and possibly 2 broods). Speyeria diana and / or cybele or nokomis. C.tullia (Abb's), P.polyxenes x P.machaon (both species and hybrids). Plus I'll be trying a few different species each year, purely to breed a series for my collection, this year P.brassicae (yes you read it right, I have so few of these it's unbelievable) and I'm hoping Jan can supply a few eggs from the Canaries later, as they are continually brooded over there maybe I'll manage a couple of generations before the first frosts.
I was going for individual cages inside the green house but I have instead opted for one large flight enclosure containing many large tubs of foodplants for each species, this way I don't need nectar plants in each cage taking up room, just a few dotted around the flight cage, to increase the area I'll also be using "wall pouches" hanging along the north side (south facing inside the greenhouse) these will have trailing larval foodplants and nectar plants in full sun (violets etc but also a few species of grass for satyrids).
Rich
P.S I noticed on the seed packet for the nasturtium I have for rearing Pieris it states not to use plant fertiliser as this produces too much foliage and not enough flowers?? Looks like I'll be overdosing miracle grow then, it's foliage I require!
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Post by jshuey on Mar 8, 2016 16:18:55 GMT
Just last week I saw a 2 week return-flight only to CancĂșn for 220 Euro! Unfortunately work was an obstacle.... But two weeks to collect at Peninsula Yucatan! Wow, me like! Jan
You would have been broken hearted to be in the Yucatan in March. Its the heart of the dry season, and many of the trees shed their leaves. Needless to say, insect diversity it at its lowest. It can look like a temperate forest on a snow-free winter day - only HOT!
Unless you are headed to mountains, the best time for northern Central America is mid-July - November. It's wet and muddy and full of insects.
John
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Post by timmsyrj on Apr 6, 2016 7:26:52 GMT
Love it, most people would moan like mad if their holiday was wet and muddy and full of insects, not an entomologist!!
Rich
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Post by wollastoni on Apr 6, 2016 7:44:02 GMT
BTW there is a great Canary Island collecting trip report in the last number of Lambillionea, collecting trip by JC Weiss, J. Verhulst and D. Stroobants. Very interesting read and well written. I received it last week
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Post by timmsyrj on Apr 6, 2016 16:20:53 GMT
Sounds like a nice little spot Jan, I'll keep my fingers crossed they lay plenty of eggs, May / June would be perfect, I should have plenty of nasturtium plants established by then and hopefully it's early enough to get a couple of broods from the greenhouse temperatures. Hopefully I'll get the opertunity to take a few photos of my flight area this weekend with a few of the plants in place now I've finished the build and installed the automatic watering system fitted, eventually I'm looking to house maybe 6 species on a perminent basis and then try around 6 different species each season once the plants are established, I have recently recieved 10, 2ft wych elm trees which I hope will establish enough to have White Letter Hairstreak on. I've also got a few sweet pea plants, so if I spot any Long tailed blues larvae for sale I'll take a few of them also.
Rich
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Post by jshuey on Apr 7, 2016 13:40:44 GMT
I would have headed south west towards Chiapas anyways, but maybe that would have been just the same? Jan
Chiapas would be good in winter - but excellent in summer. Especially the mid to higher elevations between San Cristobal and Ocosingo.
Interesting that you brought Chiapas up - I first went there in the mid 1980's - my first trip to the tropics. My wife and I fell in love with the highlands and bummed around there every chance we got in our younger years. Now we have a 15 year old, and we've always promised him that we would take him to Chiapas because it is so special. He's been to Belize, the Yucatan and Guatemala on several trips, but never Chiapas. He's at that age where our "family vacation time" is quickly running out.
So yesterday, I started to figure out airline connections into Tuxtla. It looks like I can use frequent flier miles to Mexico, then Aeromexico to Tuxtla. Hopefully we'll book the tickets later this week (for August).
John
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joee30
New Aurelian
Posts: 31
Country: U.S.A.
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Post by joee30 on Apr 7, 2016 19:43:20 GMT
All this talk about Chiapas makes me want to go to El Salvador even more. Luckily, I have a lot of family there, some with land that I can collect in without any issues. The biggest problem there now is the gang issue. They are everywhere, and the only places that are "safe" are the touristy areas.
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Post by jshuey on Apr 7, 2016 19:58:13 GMT
Here's the trip I'm trying to sell to the family. Mostly small Maya towns, Maya ruins and colonial cities, but with a chance to swing a net (assuming I still have access to a friend's collecting permit - otherwise - more colonial city than ruins). This is about a 500 driving mile loop beginning and ending in Tuxtla over 15 days. So it should be a pretty relaxing pace.
John
April 12, 2016 - tickets booked for August!
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