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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Aug 5, 2012 18:20:36 GMT -8
I have been seeing these off and on since I started last year, but none of them had mandibles like this and they were all quite a bit smaller. It wouldn't hold still for measurment, but it is somewhere around 100mm long. Attachments:
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Aug 5, 2012 18:21:42 GMT -8
And just because I liked the way it turned out, here is the head from the photo above before resizing. Attachments:
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Post by mantisboy on Aug 5, 2012 18:48:14 GMT -8
This is one of my favorite insects, a dobsonfly (Corydalis cornutus). Yours is a male, the females have smaller mandibles. Fishflies look very similar, but are smaller and neither gender has large mandibles.
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Post by bichos on Aug 5, 2012 22:29:02 GMT -8
Wow! That's an awesome bug indeed, I like it.
Soft bodies are not easy to preserve though...
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ckswank
Full Member
Posts: 239
Country: USA
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Post by ckswank on Aug 5, 2012 23:41:38 GMT -8
I agree. Abdomens usually shrink & curl up as they dry out. Might want to keep it in a vial of alcohol.
Charlie
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Post by ladobe on Aug 6, 2012 1:08:22 GMT -8
"Monsters" come to my place every summer in force during the wee hours of the night. Right now it's the Arizona Bark Scopion's in my house, so far 22 this summer, three I have stepped on barefoot as a night owl up all night. Got stung by one 30+ years ago near Phoenix, not a pleasant experience at all, nothing like our other scorpions that are no worse than a bee sting. More pain for 3-4 days than even a rattlesnake bite when I was a teen. But I was young and fit enough to eventually get away with only a scar. Now old and in poor health they could kill me. I get an ocassional Mojave Rattlesnake in the yard as well. Between their bad temperment, serious aggression and having the most potent venom of NA snakes (Type A), they could be called monsters too. Can get three other species as well, but they are not aggressive. My other regular "Monster" starts showing up the end of June and runs through maybe September. As I live in a grove of Palo Verde trees, they attract Palo Verde Root Borer's, one of the largest Coleoptera in North America. They can run up to 4" long not counting the antenna that will take them to 6", and can enflict a serious bite. First summer here I had one land on my chest when out to enjoy the night air on my patio, and it promptly bite me through my T shirt. Not only drew blood profusly, but it also cut a hole in my shirt and was near impossible to dislodge with its tarsa hooked into the material. Coleoptera also reside in my synoptic collection, so I didn't want to damage it.  Not sure which species exactly, but probably either Derobrachus hovorei or D. geminatus as they both +do occur here. Couple of pictures of the one that nailed me that night after some time in the freezer to kill it.   |
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Post by lucanidae25 on Aug 6, 2012 3:50:26 GMT -8
Talking about monster, I think this Acanthacorydalus fruhstoferi female is a real monster (200mm wingspan) I caught in Guangdong China.  I gutted and stuffed it then dried it under the sun. Dose any one know what is this gluey white stuff that it kept ejecting from its abdomen? Attachments:
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Post by johnnyboy on Aug 6, 2012 5:10:14 GMT -8
From the photo, your Acanthacorydalis specimen looks to have a forewing length of around 80mm giving a wingspan of 170mm maximum. Have you measured it with callipers?
I have two A. fruhstorferi females I got last year and a perfect Acanthacorydlis pair from Laos that are certainly a new species.
Johnny
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Post by bichos on Aug 6, 2012 6:25:42 GMT -8
Wow it's a monster showdown! The first one takes the cake, hands down...WOW |
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Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Aug 6, 2012 6:28:30 GMT -8
Hmm... It seems like I have started something here.  lol When I found this guy, the first thing that popped into my mind was a very stupid YouTube video about caterpillar "mutations". That is why the whole "monster" thing popped into my head. Feel free to keep posting the "monsters" you find around. This has become a rather enjoyable thread to watch.  |
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Post by lucanidae25 on Aug 6, 2012 16:29:39 GMT -8
Johnny Here is a photo of that specimen with measurement, my calliper is too small to measure, it only measures up to 155mm. It's actually 210mm. I only caught 9 females and 2 males 3 visits over 3 years, it's so hard to find A1 specimen, only 2 of my females are A1 and one female gets to 210mm. Attachments:
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Post by lucanidae25 on Aug 6, 2012 16:30:36 GMT -8
Here is the male 170mm. I alway thought their larvae live in the cold rivers but I've found their larvae inside timbers when I was digging for Lucanidae larvae. Attachments:
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Post by johnnyboy on Aug 7, 2012 2:27:03 GMT -8
Those are impressive sizes! My female A. fruhstorferi only measures around 160mm wingspan. Your big female is close to the record size female I saw in the BMH (it is on loan there from China). I attach a photo of my male Acanthacorydalis from Laos. I have researched it and I am sure it's a new, undescribed species. Wingspan is around 150mm, and it's a perfect specimen as well, beautifully intact abdomen etc. Johnny Attachments:
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Post by lucanidae25 on Aug 7, 2012 5:13:08 GMT -8
Very nice male Johnny I was just thinking about their life cycle and very few people know how they live. I'm just thinking the females might lay their eggs in the timbers and once the larvae get bigger enough they might move into rivers. Dose any one know more about their cycle?  |
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lol When I found this guy, the first thing that popped into my mind was a very stupid YouTube video about caterpillar "mutations". That is why the whole "monster" thing popped into my head. Feel free to keep posting the "monsters" you find around. This has become a rather enjoyable thread to watch. 
