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Post by lucanidae25 on Nov 23, 2011 17:19:45 GMT -8
If I have Phellus olgae in my collection, that giant robber fly that I saw inland was a lot bigger. It would have to be the same sp Jack saw around 8cm body length. It was the biggest robber fly that I've ever seen from any where. There was no chance I could catch that thing.
Thanks, Johnny so it's even more comfusing than ever about which is the biggest moth in the world?
Ni,
Thanks so it's the same with dragonfly, there's not a clear winner.
Yes it's a female Anotogaster sieboldii from Tawan, it's hard to imagine there's a even bigger dragonfly sp out there.
How difficult is it to catch a female Tetracanthagyna plagiata? I know most dragonfly will alway come back to the same sport because they're territorial.
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Post by johnnyboy on Nov 24, 2011 0:54:55 GMT -8
I have a pair of Petalura ingentissima, and a pair of Anotogaster sieboldi, in my collection.
I got the P. ingentissima from the late Dr Alun Davies, he had an incredible dragonfly collection (now at Cambridge University) that included several pairs of T. plagiata (two more than the NHM London).
He considered P. ingentissima as the biggest species overall, followed by T. plagiata and A. sieboldi. Having seen his collection I would agree with this.
Johnny
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Post by dragonflyer on Nov 24, 2011 7:41:53 GMT -8
Wow,
it must be stunning to see such giants all together!!! Do you mean with pairs males and females of T. plagiata? According to Leong males seem to be very rare, also specimens of it (http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/nis/bulletin2009/2009nis115-119.pdf). Never found a picture of a male in the web... Are its wings colored too?
Nic
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Post by dragonflyer on Nov 24, 2011 7:58:27 GMT -8
PS: many tropical Aeshnids, as T. plagiata too, are crepuscular and are attracted to light. Maybe you are successful with a light trap. Aeshnid females are not as territorital as males and are mostly at waterside for laying eggs...
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Post by johnnyboy on Nov 24, 2011 10:03:21 GMT -8
Yes, Dr Davies had thousands of specimens and most known species.
He had four female T. plagiata and two males. The males were similar in size and colour to the females (from what I remember).
The pair of Petalura ingentissima that I got from him were about average size for that species, about 14cm wingspan. He had at lease 10 pairs in his collection including a couple of females well over 16cm.
The Anotogaster sieboldi I have are about 13cm wingspan, they are not too much smaller than the Petaluras. I got them from a Japanese dealer a few years ago.
Johnny
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Post by lucanidae25 on Nov 25, 2011 18:12:55 GMT -8
I only have one pair Anotogaster sieboldi and one male Petalura ingentissima given to me by a good friend of mine while he was looking for Lucanidae in far N. QLD. It's good he's only interested in Lucanidae only, so I get to have anything else he caught.  |
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Post by johnnyboy on Nov 26, 2011 5:57:39 GMT -8
Out of interest, what are the wingspans of the P. ingentissima and A.sieboldi you have?. They're both great species to have in a collection.
My Petalura pair are pretty good but not perfect. The male has a piece missing from the tip of its right wing and the female has a bit of damage on her left wing. Alun Davies did have some perfect pairs but most seem to have a bit of damage on the wings.
Johnny
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Post by lucanidae25 on Nov 26, 2011 12:36:26 GMT -8
My female Anotogaster sieboldi is 140mm wingspan, 110mm body length and male Petalura ingentissima is 135mm wingspan, 105mm body length.
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Post by johnnyboy on Nov 26, 2011 15:30:19 GMT -8
Thanks, that's a nice big female Anotogaster sieboldi you have, it's probably close to maximum size for the species. I think that the contention that it is the third biggest dragonfly species is well justified.
The Chinese Chlorogomphus papilio has the biggest wing area of any dragonfly.
Johnny
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Post by lucanidae25 on Nov 27, 2011 3:08:36 GMT -8
I've been to N. Guangdong collecting many time and I've never seen Chlorogomphus papilio anywhere but it's a really nice sp. I wish I've seen and caught it myself. I think I caught the biggest cranefly in the world Holorusia sp from Guangdong 70mm wingspan, 155mm legspan, 33mm body length.
I also caught the biggest carne fly in Australia from Fraser Is QLD (the largest sand island in the world) 65mm wingspan, 105mm legspan, 22mm body length and also a mimics of spider wasps.
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Post by johnnyboy on Nov 27, 2011 4:18:23 GMT -8
Alun Davies had several pairs of Chlorogomphus papilio in his collection. He said that it was difficult to get A1 specimens although most of his seemed pretty much A1 to me. He got all his from a secret Chinese contact.
I tried to get him to sell me one female and he refused, he was a true collector. He died three years after I visited him in Cambridge, his son wasn't interested in the collection so it was bequethed to Cambridge University.
The biggest cranefly in the UK, Tipula maxima, is similar in size to your Aussie one. I caught one female this summer, they live in marshy areas. I saw a couple more but didn't try to collect them as there were people around and they sometimes get funny when they see someone collecting.
Johnny
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Post by lucanidae25 on Nov 27, 2011 13:57:32 GMT -8
Johnny Do you know if this female Holorusia sp from Guangdong China is the world largest cranefly? The males carry their fertilizated eggs underneath their abdomens and they do get much bigger but it was hard to find them in perfect conditions. I can't find it's name. Thanks Attachments:
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Post by johnnyboy on Nov 28, 2011 6:40:49 GMT -8
Yes, I think that you may well have the biggest known species there, it looks like the right locality, and wing colour so it could be a specimen of Holorusia brobdignagius , the largest cranefly in existence.
Great specimen to have. I think that they do grow even bigger than your specimen, maybe there is a marked sexual size dimorphism as I've seen a really huge one during a "behind the scenes" visit to the NHM London many years ago.
Johnny
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Post by lucanidae25 on Nov 28, 2011 15:36:40 GMT -8
Thanks Johnny, I've also found these gaint harvestmen in the same area in Guangdong. Do you know if this is the world largest harvestmen? I've also found them in Tam Dao Vietnam and I think they are the same sp. I've seen them even bigger than this one and I've haven't seen harvestmen this big before. Do you know the name of this giant harvestmen sp 170mm legspan? I've seen them around 200mm legspan.  The European Trogulus torosus (Trogulidae) is the largest known species can reach a length of 22 mm. However, leg span is much larger and can exceed 160 mm (over 6"). Attachments:
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Post by lucanidae25 on Nov 28, 2011 16:21:06 GMT -8
I've also found this giant Chilopoda in Guangdong and I've never seen a bigger house centipedes than this sp. They also get much much bigger than the one I caught but they all have missing legs. Is this the world largest Chilopoda? Thanks Attachments:
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