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Post by Zacatak on Feb 23, 2012 12:38:00 GMT -8
here is one i bred, i breed them in the 100's every year, but sadly they are now more uncommon then they use to be, they are becoming a rare species now...wasps are killing 90% of all pupae they find, and too much land production is killing off its foodplant, which is the most lethal stinging plant in the world..a plant that can kill humans tree nettle - urtica ferox, see photo below, its a 1 year old plant growing in my backyard;) Attachments:
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Post by Zacatak on Feb 23, 2012 12:38:49 GMT -8
tree nettle urtica ferox - foodplant for vanessa gonerilla Attachments:
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Post by lucanidae25 on Feb 23, 2012 18:32:00 GMT -8
Thanos
Yes, the larvae of Chelepteryx collesi are quit easy to find, I've seen them feeding on Eucalyptus just in the suburbs in front of houses and one adult turned up at the door step where I used to work one morning but it was damaged. They can defoliaged the whole tree with in 2 weeks. I tried to breed them but because of their stings and ate too much, I gave up after one week.
None of them are protected species in Australia but they still need a lot of time to find, finding time and money is the main problem in Australia. Xyleutes eucalypti and Xyleutes cinereus
are the next easiest after Chelepteryx collesi, if you have a generator. I have a female Xyleutes eucalypti 220mm. She's so heavy, she splited her abdomen opened when she hit the ground.
The larvae of Coequosa triangularis feeds on banksia and I never found the larvae but I've taken adults at my light trap. Zelotypia stacyi I've never want to spend any time to look for them, I rather spend my time looking for beetles like Lucanidae. I know Zelotypia stacyi emerged between 3-4pm in the afternoon to be ready to fly at night and that's the best time to look for them from their emerged holes.
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Post by thanos on Feb 23, 2012 19:59:14 GMT -8
'I have a female Xyleutes eucalypti 220mm. She's so heavy, she splited her abdomen opened when she hit the ground.' -Wow,what a beast ;D ! I'm really jealous of you having collected by yourself such great species ! You have some of my very favorite species,but can't send specimens of them to me cause of the export permits   . A pitty ,-I could offer for exchange of few good specimens of such moths some nice beetles from here like Lucanus cervus ssp. turcicus and ssp. turcicus x ssp. cervus, some nice rare Prioninae, very rare Procerus (sub)species, etc. Caterpillars of C.triangularis in addition to Banksia,feed also on Grevillea, Macadamia and other Proteaceae. For Z.stacyi, if I was there and had spotted infected Eucalyptus trees by this species, I'd go there in the beginning days of the flight period, spot the big exit holes on the trunks and branches ,and would use my method for taking out of the holes Prioninae here, to make the fresh moths come out even by day...Or alternatively, if I hadn't spotted any trees but was aware of an area where the species has been found,I would do the usual light-trapping there,in the short flight period of the species,and maybe would be lucky. Thanos |
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Post by lucanidae25 on Feb 23, 2012 20:07:10 GMT -8
Zelotypia stacyi never attacts by MV lights, that's why I never want to spend any time to find them. All the old specimens were found by the loggers during the day time but no one want to do logging any more, it's too much of hard work.
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Post by thanos on Feb 23, 2012 20:41:29 GMT -8
Hepialidae are attracted to MV light ,-why not Z.stacyi specifically ? Here is a picture where one Abantiades hyalinatus can be seen light-trapped in NSW . www.flickr.com/photos/dhobern/5389998028/in/photostream/But even by day someone could collect them(if infected trees are spotted) ,if knows how to spot them inside the holes and to make them come out by themselves,without damaging their wings or the need to log trees..With much luck,but not impossible,they could also be found resting on the trunks of infected Eucalyptus by day. You,particularly,seem to be not so interested in searching for it,as you mainly have a beetle passion(which I have,too,and understand you well), but I think that if someone dedicates time,knows where and when to search,and has a good collecting method for them,then they could be found. Thanos |
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Post by lucanidae25 on Feb 23, 2012 21:03:23 GMT -8
It's a common knowledge with in Australia that large Hepialidae like Z.stacyi and Aenetus eximius will never attact by MV lights. I've only seen small Hepialidae sp at my light trap. A lot of old collectors told me that they will just fly straight pass the lights with out stopping. I have no interest in finding it. Dosen't interest me at all. All the other specimens were found when I was looking for beetles but I will never go out there just looking for moths.
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Post by thanos on Feb 23, 2012 21:39:06 GMT -8
Is Abantiades hyalinatus small  ? It's bigger than Aenetus eximius. |
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Post by thanos on Feb 24, 2012 0:55:23 GMT -8
By the way, an interesting point of the behaviour of the adult moths Z.stacyi is that they tend to rest by day hanging under a branch with a characteristic way and resembling a dead leaf for camouflage,like shown on this photo: www.flickr.com/photos/beatnik_design/122431840/When the moth emerges from the pupa from the emerging hole,it comes out and rests on the branch/trunk on the entrance of the exit hole and stays there,until spreading/hardening its wings and being ready to fly at night. Like shown on this photo: www.scienceimage.csiro.au/index.cfm?event=site.image.detail&id=6967So,to be correct,there is no need of a method for taking the freshly emerged moths out of the holes(as I wrongly wrote above),cause just with the emergence from the pupae they leave the holes(opposingly e.g. to many Prioninae xylophagous Coleoptera,which stay inside the exit holes and tunnels long from the emergence). But,it would be very useful,if infected Eucalyptus have been spotted,to go there just a few days before the flight period and check the holes for the pupae(with the help of puting a light focused on the entrance of the tunnel in the wood),as pupation takes place near the entrance of the holes.The pupae could be taken carefully by using a tool for widening the entrance (similarly could be found the pupae of Xyleutes). Or someone could go there in the flight period by day and checking for big 'dead leaves'  hanging under the branches,as shown above,or for resting moths on trunks/branches of the hostplant or even of other surrounding tree species different than Eucalyptus. Or possibly with light-trapping at night at their habitat.. (Notes for the Xyleutes eucalypti and cinereus : 1.The valid genus name for these species is Endoxyla -they were formerly known as Xyleutes- . 2.Their caterpillars attack both acacia and Eucalyptus). These for being exactly correct in what I wrote above ,-excuse me if I was a bit out of the topic of this thread(regarding NZ Rhopalocera), but when I saw the reference to Cossids and Hepialids,I couldn't resist from commending on them,as I'm interested in these moths from this area -and also I'm sure other collectors here are- so I think was nice that some interesting info was discussed on them. Thanos |
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Post by downundermoths on Feb 24, 2012 6:01:49 GMT -8
Nicely copied and pasted, Thanos... By the way you have on several occasions erroneously referred to this moth as Endoxyla eucalypti or Xyleutes eucalypti... Both are incorrect... The true name is Endoxyla encalypti Herrich-Schaffer, [1854] Barry |
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Post by lucanidae25 on Feb 24, 2012 13:13:39 GMT -8
Anything is possible if some one is willing to spend enough time and money on find anything but I'm not interested to dirve for 2 hours between 2-4pm every afteroon for a month. The time Z.stacyi is out I wouldn't be able to find any beetles because it's very late in our season. I would come home with nothing most of the time.
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Post by thanos on Feb 24, 2012 23:09:54 GMT -8
downundermoths, yes,the current valid name (ICZN) is Endoxyla eNcalypti (with a junior synonym: Endoxyla durvilli).
But since the species name comes from 'Eucalyptus',I can't find a reason for being 'eNcalypti' and not 'eUcalypti'.
By the way,both names: Endoxyla and Xyleutes are Greek,and am able to understand them better than you. Endoxyla comes from 'endo'(=inside) +'xylo'(=wood) ,meaning the one who is inside the wood and indicating the xylophagous larvae. Xyleutes comes from the Greek word 'xyleutis' which means the one who works the wood,indicating again the xylophagous larvae of these moths.
Nothing is copied and pasted from what I wrote here,but a combination of what I've read on these species over the years from my books(I know these species since my 5 years,when I was reading the book of Dr.David Carter of the Natural History Museum of London,where the acacia carpenter moth is refered as Xyleutes eucalypti) or internet sites,and my personal collecting experience here with our own Cossids(Cossus cossus,Zeuzera pyrina) and Hepialids(Hepialus humuli) ,which have very similar biology with these Australian species.
I know the species,their behaviour and biology,and where/how to search for them if will be in Australia in the future. It would be better if you'd share here your personal collecting experiences with these species(or you live in the wrong part of OZ for Z.stacyi ? ).
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Post by saturniidave on Feb 25, 2012 9:31:28 GMT -8
Leucanidae25, maybe you would come home with nothing most of the time but they are fetching up to 750 Euros a pair on the internet so personally I would have no problems driving all that way!
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Post by downundermoths on Feb 25, 2012 14:24:19 GMT -8
Thanos wrote : "downundermoths, yes,the current valid name (ICZN) is Endoxyla eNcalypti (with a junior synonym: Endoxyla durvilli).
But since the species name comes from 'Eucalyptus',I can't find a reason for being 'eNcalypti' and not 'eUcalypti'".No matter how hard you wriggle, it is encalypti. Can't you ever admit to being wrong? The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature must be really worried that you are changing the scientific names just to match in with your incorrect knowledge...   |
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Post by lucanidae25 on Feb 25, 2012 15:32:02 GMT -8
"they are fetching up to 750 Euros a pair on the internet" Big deal!!!!!!  Money just dosen't interest me at all, I'm only interested in finding beetles and what ever comes along with them. The only way I can do it, it's to quit my work and find a new one but why would I wanna do that? Even if I get pay 750Euros per specimen, I get a lot more than that with my curry job. The amount spending 4 hours a day on petrol is about 45us a day and times that by 7 and 4 weeks, that's still over 1000us for 4 weeks and that's just on petrol alone. I can spend the same amount on flying any where in Asia and get a lot more inturn. I would never do it to sell them, I would only do it for my own collection. |
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. A pitty ,-I could offer for exchange of few good specimens of such moths some nice beetles from here like Lucanus cervus ssp.turcicus and ssp.turcicus x ssp.cervus, some nice rare Prioninae, very rare Procerus (sub)species, etc.
? It's bigger than Aenetus eximius.
hanging under the branches,as shown above,or for resting moths on trunks/branches of the hostplant or even of other surrounding tree species different than Eucalyptus. Or possibly with light-trapping at night at their habitat..
Money just dosen't interest me at all, I'm only interested in finding beetles and what ever comes along with them. The only way I can do it, it's to quit my work and find a new one but why would I wanna do that? Even if I get pay 750Euros per specimen, I get a lot more than that with my curry job. The amount spending 4 hours a day on petrol is about 45us a day and times that by 7 and 4 weeks, that's still over 1000us for 4 weeks and that's just on petrol alone. I can spend the same amount on flying any where in Asia and get a lot more inturn.