Tag: Lepidoptera

Sorting Specimens from the Wisconsin Trip

On By Erik OstrumIn Collecting Outings, Uncategorized, Working on the CollectionLeave a comment

I’ve been back for a few days and finally got to the material from the recent trip to Wisconsin. I was able to fit everything in this one box luckily since most of it was in envelopes. I also a 6 alcohol vials full of specimens but they are being mailed to me since I couldn’t bring those on the plane. I also have the collecting videos up on Youtube from this trip…its a 2 parter!

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I didn’t catch as many Leps as I wanted which kind of sucks but I did manage to get a few Sphingids. The butterflies were certainly out I just didn’t pay as much time collecting them as I should have. I also got some cool moths at the porch light at my grandparents house.

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Some of the odds and ends that I pinned right away that wasn’t kept in the alcohol vials. There isn’t anything to exciting in these couple pictures.

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The main portion of the trip was focused on Odonata. Despite being rained out a couple days, which kept me from collecting in a few spots I wanted to, I was still able to get a good haul.

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After I got everything out of the travelling envelopes and sorted I finally came to the realization that I need to make a lot of envelopes for their storage in the collection….I have a feeling it’s going to take a few days.

 

Many New Lepidoptera Species to the Collection

On By Erik OstrumIn Collecting Outings, Uncategorized, Working on the Collection1 Comment

I’ve been gone the past few weeks traveling for work so I’ve been busy. But being that I’m an entomologist I get to work with insects the entire time and I get to collect in new locations all the time. This year my main sites are in south Florida and south Texas. I always have a little free time on these trips and I take full advantage and do what I do best…go collecting.

The specimens in the first photo are actually from Colorado. These were collected at two new locations the day before I left for my recent trips. The prize in this lot is the single Papilio indra that I actually caught right next to the car as I was packing up and leaving.

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This next photo includes specimens from south Texas. I was only able to get out collecting for about 45 minutes but as you can see I did manage to get some awesome stuff. The prize in this batch is the Melanis pixe. This species only enters the U.S in the southern tip of Texas. I saw a couple but only got one (I’m still happy about it).

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This last pic are the specimens from Florida. I actually have a couple favorites from these…the Dryas julia and the Phocides pigmalion. I’ve been trying to catch a Julia every time I’ve been down and finally was able to get a couple. The mangrove skipper was a complete surprise to me and I wasn’t to see one at all so I’m very pleased with the Florida batch from this last trip. Hopefully I can get some more awesome stuff next month when I’m down again.

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Actias luna (Linnaeus)

On By Erik OstrumIn Lepidoptera, Saturniidae, UncategorizedLeave a comment

This species is probably one of the most beautiful moths found in the eastern U.S. I’ve been extremely fortunate to encounter luna moths rather regularly growing up in Wisconsin. Their large size coupled with the green coloration makes this species easily identified and admired.

This is one of the more common Saturniidae species found throughout the eastern U.S. The life cycle is similar as other giant silk moths here in the U.S. The caterpillars can be found on a wide variety of plants including birch, sweet gum, and walnuts among many others. Like other silk moths the adults do not feed and only live for a very short time.

Even though I live in Colorado now and out of range of the luna moth I still vividly remember always seeing them growing up. I currently have a handful of specimens, mostly from Wisconsin but also from Arkansas.

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Other Online Sources:

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Actias-luna

https://bugguide.net/node/view/562

Papilio canadensis Rothschild & Jordan

On By Erik OstrumIn Lepidoptera, papilionidaeLeave a comment

This was one of the most common swallowtail species I saw while growing up in northern Wisconsin. To tell the truth up until I was in about 6th grade I always thought it was the similar Papilio glaucus I was seeing. My mind was blown when I found out it was a different species entirely.

This species is mostly found in the upper Great Lakes states and the northeastern states into Canada and up to Alaska. Because of this most people in the U.S. are outside of the range of this species.

They are in flight from May to about mid-July. Caterpillars can be found feeding on leaves of birch, aspen, and black cherry among others.

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All specimens I have in my collection were collected in northern Wisconsin. Eventually I want to add specimens from the northeastern states as well.

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Other Online Sources:

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-canadensis

https://bugguide.net/node/view/7367

Papilio eurymedon Lucas

On By Erik OstrumIn Lepidoptera, papilionidaeLeave a comment

This is a pretty and quite striking butterfly species. The creamy white color of the wings contrast sharply with the dense black markings and borders. It looks like the tiger swallowtails but lack the yellow color on the wings.

This species is relatively common and found throughout much of the western U.S. I’ve encountered a good amount of individuals along the Front Range of Colorado.

You can typically find this species on the wing from April-July in much of its range, though it flies longer in southern California. The larvae feed on a variety of woody plants including cherry, and ash among others.

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I currently have a few specimens in the collection. Most are from northern Colorado. I’m hoping to get some more specimens from areas throughout the state.

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Other Online Sources:

https://bugguide.net/node/view/40208

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-eurymedon

Parnassius smintheus Doubleday

On By Erik OstrumIn Lepidoptera, papilionidaeLeave a comment

Ever since I’ve moved to Colorado I’ve seen some beautiful species and I like them all. One of my favorites though would have to be Parnassius smintheus. I’m actually not entirely sure why I like this species so much, I just do.

Some people think this is the same species as the European Parnassius phoebus, others separate them and other have 3 different species occurring in North America. Needless to say it can get confusing and different depending on who you talk to.

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This species can be found in the Rocky Mountains in the summer months. Caterpillars can be found feeding on species of Stonecrop. I haven’t found any caterpillars yet but I’ve seen a few adults, which are quite easy to ID while they are flying (in my opinion). I didn’t realize how large these butterflies actually were until I saw one in person.

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As you can see it is a nice crisp white color on the wings with contrasting black and red. The underside of the wings just mirror the top just not as pronounced black and red. I’m hoping to get a couple more specimens from some new locations this summer.

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Other Online Sources:

https://bugguide.net/node/view/24000

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Parnassius-smintheus

Differentiating the Tiger Swallowtails

On By Erik OstrumIn Insect Identification Tips, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The tiger swallowtails are large conspicuous butterflies that are found throughout the U.S. This post is all about how to identify the different species. I’ve outlined the key traits in each photo with a red line to show you where to look.

Papilio canadensis VS Papilio glaucus

These two species are ones that people get mixed up the most, in my opinion at least. The ranges of these two species luckily only overlap in the northern Great Lakes states and the northeastern states. I’ll include a link to their species pages that show their ranges

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-canadensis

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-glaucus

One characteristic that is difficult to see unless you have the specimens next to each other is the size difference. Papilio glaucus is slightly larger. I’ll start by showing the main difference on the dorsal side.

Papilio canadensis

You can see the area I marked showing a really thick black line on the inner margin of the hind-wing.

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Papilio glaucus

In this species you can see the line on the inner margin as really thin.

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The markings I just showed you should be one of the first things you look for. There is also a trait on the ventral side of the forewing that you can look for as well, though this trait might be useful in all cases.

Papilio canadensis

The are I have highlight shows the marginal spot that appear to be a continuous band.

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Papilio glaucus

In this species species the marginal spots have black line interrupting them appearing more chain like. Be careful though as some individuals may have less black and may appear similar to the marginal spots of Papilio canadensis.

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Once you start seeing the differences over and over you start to get the hang of it. Like most other things it’s repetition. Luckily for those of us in the western states it is a little easier.

Papilio rutulus VS Papilio multicaudata

These are the two primary tiger swallowtail species in the western states. Luckily it is pretty easy to tell the difference between the two. One difference is the notable size difference between the two. Papilio multicaudata is noticeably larger generally. For this comparison all I need to show is the dorsal side.

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-multicaudata

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-rutulus

Papilio rutulus

The tell all difference is the number of tails. As you can see this species only has one tail.

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Papilio multicaudata

Unlike all other tiger swallowtail species native to the U.S. this species has two tails, hence its species name.

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So far so good I hope. I only really have one more comparison to make.

Papilio glaucus VS Papilio rutulus

For the most part the ranges of these two species don’t overlap. In typical fashion though there are always strays and times where these two species can indeed be found in the same location. I’ll also point out that this comparison is also the same way to differentiate between P. rutulus and P. canadensis as well.

For this comparison you have to look at the ventral side of the hindwings.

Papilio glaucus

In the area I highlight you can see the marginal spots have a decent amount of orange in them.

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Papilio rutulus

In this species there is no orange present at all except for the little bit at the very end.

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As you can see once you actually know what to look for you should have no problem identifying these amazing butterflies to species.

Papilio eurymedon

In the western states there is a species that looks superficially like the tiger swallowtails but should not be confused with them at all. You can easily tell this species about by the pale coloration.

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-eurymedon

Papilio eurymedon

The pale color of this species make it pretty unmistakable compared to the tiger swallowtails.

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Other Notes:

Just as you think you were done….wait, there’s more!

In the eastern U.S., in the higher elevations of the Appalachian Mountains there is yet another species of tiger swallowtail, Papilio appalachiensis. This species is not commonly encountered and the majority of people in the states probably never will. I don’t have any specimens in my collection nor have I seen this butterfly in person yet. It looks just like Papilio glaucus but larger and there are some other more detailed differences. I’ll add a couple links about this species so you read about it.

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-appalachiensis

https://bugguide.net/node/view/60430

Okay, now we are done. I know this post was a long one but I hope it gives you the information you need to help differentiate these species. As always if you have any question feel free to contact me.

Antheraea polyphemus (Cramer)

On By Erik OstrumIn Lepidoptera, SaturniidaeLeave a comment

This species was the most common Saturniid I encountered growing up in Wisconsin. Seeing one was always a treat as were the other species of Saturniidae. I remember on one particular fruitful blacklighting session back in 2012 we had 5 of them show up, which for Wisconsin, I consider pretty good.

This is a large species that can have a wingspan of up to 6 inches. The overall tan color is distinctive and contrast with the dark coloring surrounding the eyes on the hindwings. This is a common species found throughout the eastern U.S. and also has scattered records throughout the western states as well. The pair in the photo below were found in Colorado Springs, CO. I didn’t collect them as they were in the midst of mating.

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One of the things I’ve always been amazed at is the size of the caterpillars and the life cycle which takes 1 year. The adults eclose in the spring and only live about 1 week as they don’t have mouthparts to feed. The caterpillars hatch and feed throughout the summer and early fall and then they pupate and over-winter.

I have a handful of specimens, all collected from Wisconsin.

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Other online sources:

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/MOTHS/polyphemus_moth.htm

https://bugguide.net/node/view/427

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Antheraea-polyphemus

Alypia octomaculata (Fabricius)

On By Erik OstrumIn Lepidoptera, NoctuidaeLeave a comment

This is a species that is always a treat to see. I was fortunate to see this species relatively often growing up and continues to bring me some sort of nostalgia every time I see one. The contrasting black and white coloration along with the orange legs makes this species a real beauty.

This species ranges throughout the eastern U.S with some scattered records in some western states. There are some other species that look similar so depending on the location you might need to double check to make sure you have this species. Though this is usually only true in the western and more northern parts of its range.

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Larvae can be found feeding on grape and Virginia Creeper. Adults are actually day flying as well and are often found taking nectar at various plants.Even though this species isn’t large by any means it is steal an eye popper and adds some color to the Noctuidae drawers. I have only a handful of specimens in the collection, all being from Wisconsin. I’m still on the hunt for some western specimens.

Other online sources:

https://bugguide.net/node/view/485

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Alypia-octomaculata

Limenitis weidemeyerii W. H. Edwards

On By Erik OstrumIn Lepidoptera, NymphalidaeLeave a comment

This is a very bold colored species belonging in the same genus as the more commonly recognized Viceroy. The Limenitis genus as whole are all quite bold and colorful. I never seen this species until I moved out to Colorado and now it has become the most recognizable species I see flying about.

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This species ranges throughout the Rocky Mountains here in the U.S and several subspecies are recognized. Larvae can be found feeding on aspen, cottonwood, and willows among others.

Since 2017 I’ve been able to add a few individuals to the collection, all from Colorado. As of right now I only have a handful of species and subspecies of Limenitis and I’m hoping to add some more variants soon.

Below you can see the bold coloration on the underside of the wings, which is my favorite part of this species.

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Other online sources:

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Limenitis-weidemeyerii

https://bugguide.net/node/view/24571