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Post by bichos on Jul 5, 2013 23:57:15 GMT -8
Wow, two years and not a single sighting, sad indeed. Proection does not guarantee anythingand i think it can further threaten a species' survival even further, conservation strategies are needed, c'mon CITES get it together. Finish what you started.
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Post by timmsyrj on Jul 6, 2013 2:39:52 GMT -8
Too many people need there Kenco Blue mountain coffee in the morning at the cost of the blue mountain forests and homerus habitat, ironically it's probably still there due to the cocaine growers and there guns protecting what little habitat remains, in accessible ravines that are not good coffee growing areas.
I wouldn't mind the pdf on homerus also Adam if it's not too much trouble.
Rich
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cyane
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Post by cyane on Jul 6, 2013 4:45:42 GMT -8
Here are a few papers (including the one Adam mentions) and pics of pinned specimens and live adults of P homerus available on the net. (these are all from the first page of results from googling "Papilio homerus") There are so many more papers available for free online now. I just wish all papers were. It does make me wonder how specimens of a CITES 1 listed species manage to make thier way to the USA. David Hall. PAPILIO HOMERUS (PAPILIONIDAE) IN JAMAICA, WEST INDIES: FIELD OBSERVATIONS AND DESCRIPTION OF IMMATURE STAGES THOMAS W. TURNER 1991 images.peabody.yale.edu/lepsoc/jls/1990s/1991/1991-45(4)259-Turner.pdfNOTES ON THE OSMETERIA OF PAPILIO HOMERUS LARVAE ERIC GARRAWAY and JOHN R. PARNELL 1993 www.troplep.org/TLR/4-1/pdf007.pdfECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION BIOLOGY OF THE HOMERUS SWALLOWTAIL IN JAMAICA THOMAS C. EMMEL and ERIC GARRAWAY 1990 www.troplep.org/TLR/1-2/pdf005.pdfNEW POPULATIONS OF THE JAMAICAN GIANT SWALLOWTAIL, PAPILIO (PTEROURUS) HOMERUS Eric Garraway,Herlitz A. Davis, Noel Snyder and Audette J. A. Bailey 2008 www.troplep.org/TLR/18-1/Garraway-et-al.pdfPics of both pinned specimens and live butterflies butterfliesofamerica.com/papilio_homerus.htm |
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cyane
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Post by cyane on Jul 6, 2013 5:26:43 GMT -8
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Post by nomad on Jul 6, 2013 8:36:55 GMT -8
Hi David
Thank you for your time and research in providing the links to the Papilio homerus papers. I will enjoy going through these.
Peter.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2013 11:38:11 GMT -8
Surely allowing captive breeding to replenish wild populations is the way forward for homerus, would it be too difficult to implement?
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Post by paradesia on May 9, 2014 9:46:59 GMT -8
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Post by monasteria on May 9, 2014 11:12:06 GMT -8
The Blue Mountains are famous for their coffee, but isn't the Blue Mountains area at least partly a national park also (Blue Mountain John Crow Mountain National Park)? That could help to stop the destruction of homerus' the habitat or at least slow it down.
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Post by jshuey on May 10, 2014 5:38:33 GMT -8
The Blue Mountains are famous for their coffee, but isn't the Blue Mountains area at least partly a national park also (Blue Mountain John Crow Mountain National Park)? That could help to stop the destruction of homerus' the habitat or at least slow it down. I work for a conservation orgaization that has helped protect the two areas in Jamaica that support this bug. Go here to see and overview. www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/caribbean/jamaica/placesweprotect/ you can follow a link to read more about the John Crow Mountain area. The Cockpit Country is really the homerus hotspot - and the conservation area there is very much a work in progress - but it is starting to gel. John |
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Post by nomad on May 10, 2014 7:19:30 GMT -8
Paradesia, exhilarating footage of this rare giant Swallowtail, great to hear that they are conserving areas where this superb species still graces the forests of Jamaica.
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Post by beetlehorn on May 17, 2014 2:46:19 GMT -8
I agree with nomad, the conservation of habitat is the only thing that will keep them going. Although I am a collector, I would much rather see them flying in the wild. I think a breeding population would benefit from a rearing program similar to Dr. Thomas Emmel's attempt with the Schaus' Swallowtail (P. aristodemus ponceanus)in Florida. A captive rearing activity that boosted the population of Ornithoptera in PNG, would also be a good thing for this butterfly, because it would pretty much eliminate illegal poaching, create a market and income for some of the people of the area, bring the species back from the verge of extinction, and may actually incite the restoration of habitat, when they see how much revenue it could generate! Ova harvested from females and reared in protective sleeves would drastically reduce immature mortality, and releasing 75% back into the wild would be one suggestion. Then selling the rest (only reared stock) to discourage poaching from the wild population. I am sure papered specimens would bring premium prices once the species is stabilized and removed from the CITES 1 list. I know all this is probably just a pipe dream, and chances are I'll never live to see it happening, but perhaps some day....Throughout history money has always been the great motivator! I hate to say it that way, but I'd rather see that than the loss of the species altogether! As jshuey aptly put it, that conservation efforts in the area are starting to gel. It is most likely due to funding problems, as I would venture to guess.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2014 6:22:27 GMT -8
Careful Tom, you are making sense and that would never do around CITES species.
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Post by Chris Grinter on May 17, 2014 8:13:35 GMT -8
As jshuey aptly put it, that conservation efforts in the area are starting to gel. It is most likely due to funding problems, as I would venture to guess. The way I read this I think you misunderstood "gel". John was saying the conservation efforts are coming together in a good way. The problem with captive breeding homerus is that they feed on large trees. The female fly high in the canopy - I think I recall hearing that captive efforts failed? |
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Post by beetlehorn on May 18, 2014 0:11:19 GMT -8
Here is an interesting article on P. homerus, that includes the identification of it's primary hostplant, causes for immature mortality, regional observations, and the location of two distinct populations. www.researchgate.net/publication/227006546_The_population_biology_and_ecology_of_the_Homerus_swallowtail_Papilio_(Pterourus)_homerus_in_the_Cockpit_Country_Jamaica Perhaps I did misunderstand what John was trying to say. Please forgive my assumptions. It is due to hearing and reading about so many failed attempts with other species such as the Schaus' Swallowtail. From reading the article it was obvious that they seem to think collectors were one of the main threats!?! It's sad that we collectors are viewed as the bad guys when there are truly those of us that are genuinely concerned with conservation issues. I would love to go collecting in Jamaica (if it were possible to get a permit), but I wouldn't dream of swinging a net at this butterfly if I happened to encounter it. I would however observe, document, and either photograph or video it, and feel very fortunate just to be able to see it. At the risk of sounding somewhat arbitrary, the whole time I would be wondering if there were a way to help the survival of this species. If the issue is that the larvae feed on large trees, then it seems there is an issue with gaining access to the branches where large sleeves could be put in place and frequently checked. There must be a way to protect the immature stages, then release the adults when they eclose. My point being that sometimes the simplest ideas could be the solution. |
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Post by exoticimports on May 21, 2014 10:36:38 GMT -8
A decade ago when I was doing the LA bug show my local buddy (an importer & bug dealer) decided to clean out some big, space consuming specimens from his collection so he could use the drawers for the show.
So we drove up to Bioquip to unload the stuff (cheap) on them.
I remember zalmoxis and such. There was one big butterfly I just for the life of me could not place, and it was driving me nuts. I felt that I should have grabbed it, but I wasn't buying commercial and didn't need another big butterfly.
So he sold them for a couple hundred bucks.
About an hour later it occurred to me what that big butterfly was...
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